London, Sep 3 (IANS) Jordan Cox has been handed a late call-up to England’s T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against Ireland, after starring in the Men’s Hundred with a Player-of-the-Tournament performance.

The 24-year-old batter was instrumental in Oval Invincibles’ third consecutive Hundred title, scoring 367 runs at an average of 61.16 and a strike-rate of 173.93. In Sunday’s final at Lord’s, Cox struck a vital 40 off 28 balls in his team’s 26-run victory over Trent Rockets.

His consistent form has now earned him an England recall, after a string of near-misses that included injuries disrupting a potential Test debut in New Zealand and a county century earlier this summer.

Cox has featured for England before, playing two T20Is against Australia in September 2024 and three ODIs on the West Indies tour later that year. He now joins a second-string squad captained by 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, who will make history as England’s youngest men’s captain when the series begins in Dublin on September 17.

The original squad had been thin on specialist batting, with the possibility of a bowling allrounder filling the No.6 spot. Cox’s inclusion adds depth and balance ahead of matches scheduled for September 17, 19, and 21.

The call-up comes a day after England’s senior ODI side suffered a humbling loss to South Africa, bowled out for just 131 at Headingley. With regular skipper Harry Brook and several all-format players rested as part of workload management, Bethell will lead a youthful outfit that also includes the likes of Rehan Ahmed, Phil Salt, Will Jacks, and Adil Rashid.

England T20I squad vs Ireland: Jacob Bethell (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood, Jordan Cox.

–IANS

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