News

DUBLIN – The Ireland Men’s squad that will take on England in a three-match T20I series at Malahide this month has been named, with batter/wicketkeeper Ben Calitz called up for the first time.

The series itself is of historic nature, being the first time Ireland Men has played a T20I in Ireland against England. The third match on Sunday 21 September has sold out, with Friday also nearing sell-out.

The two sides have only met twice in the T20I format – the first match in 2010 being a No Result, and the second match being at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Melbourne where Ireland won by 5 runs (DLS).

On the squad…

Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher and Craig Young have come through the Emerald Challenge series and are available to play, however, Mark Adair, Fionn Hand and Josh Little are still working through rehabilitation programmes and are unavailable.

Ben Calitz has received his first senior international call-up for Ireland Men. The 23-year old was born in Vancouver, Canada and moved to Ireland in 2022. He has played club cricket with Holywood CC, Muckamore CC and (now) Lisburn CC.

In 2024 he played for Munster Reds in the Inter-Provincial Series, then represented Northern Knights in 2025. In April 2025, he was selected for the Ireland Wolves tour to UAE.

FIXTURES

The upcoming matches are:

• 17 September: Ireland Men v England Men – 1^st T20I (Malahide Cricket Ground; start 1.30pm)
• 19 September: Ireland Men v England Men – 2^nd T20I (Malahide Cricket Ground; start 1.30pm)
• 21 September: Ireland Men v England Men – 3^rd T20I (Malahide Cricket Ground; start 1.30pm)

Tickets are selling fast – Sunday 21 September is officially sold out. Fans can purchase tickets at: www.cricketireland.ie/tickets

SQUAD – Ireland Men

• Paul Stirling (captain) (Northern Knights)
• Ross Adair (Lisburn / Northern Knights)
• Ben Calitz (Lisburn / Northern Knights)
• Curtis Campher (Clontarf / Munster Reds)
• Gareth Delany (Leinster / Munster Reds)
• George Dockrell (Phoenix / Leinster Lightning)
• Graham Hume (Waringstown / North West Warriors)
• Matthew Humphreys (Lisburn / Northern Knights)
• Barry McCarthy (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)
• Jordan Neil (CSNI / Northern Knights)
• Harry Tector (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)
• Lorcan Tucker (Pembroke / Leinster Lightning)
• Ben White (Phoenix / Munster Reds)
• Craig Young (North Down / North West Warriors)

Head Coach: Heinrich Malan

Andrew White, National Men’s Selector, said:

“While every match against England is a special occasion, this series takes on extra importance given we are less than six months out from the next T20 World Cup [which will be played in India and Sri Lanka]. These matches against England offer us an opportunity to test ourselves against one of the world’s best teams as we build-up to that tournament.

“As it stands, we are set to play as many T20I matches in the next five months as we have already played in this cycle to date, but we’ll transition to Asian and Middle East venues to better prepare the squad for conditions they will likely face on the subcontinent.

“While it’s unfortunate that Mark [Adair], Fionn [Hand] and Josh [Little] are not available, this series will give several other members of the bowling group the chance to step up and challenge for World Cup spots.

“While we have excellent cover at the top of the order, it is the middle order batting where we are looking to increase our depth. As part of this focus, we welcome Ben Calitz into the squad – who gives us a left-handed batting option, as well as wicketkeeping cover – and Jordan Neill returns as cover for Mark Adair, as he did in the West Indies ODI series earlier this summer before injury cut his debut short.”