England have added Jordan Cox to the T20I squad that will face Ireland later this month, despite no player being replaced.
The announcement was made on September 3, adding Cox to the previously 14-member squad. No official reason accompanied the announcement, nor did it come on the back of an existing member of the squad being ruled out due to injury. In fact, Cox is set to simply become the 15th squad member.
Jordan Cox was the Player of the Tournament at The Hundred, scoring 367 runs at 61.16 at a strike rate of 173.92 💪#IREvENG pic.twitter.com/pMuJNJ8Fc6
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 3, 2025
Why have England added Cox to the squad?
There can be a two-fold explanation for this move. The most obvious one being Cox's form: the 24-year-old had an outstanding season of The Hundred, where he smashed 367 runs at a strike rate of 174. No other batter scored even 300 runs in the season. His 22 sixes were also three more than the next best.
Also read: Out-of-favour England batter smashes 10 sixes in 29 balls en route to record-breaking Hundred total
To go with that, the original squad only had Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, and Phil Salt as specialist batters. All other batting options are all-rounders, including Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, and Jamie Overton. That might have prompted the selectors to make the call of adding batting cover to the side. Cox with the red-hot form that he is in, was the obvious choice.
Cox has already played three ODIs and two T20Is for England. The ODIs came in the West Indies while the T20Is were against Australia at home, both last year. He has also come close to making his Test debut twice, but it hasn't materialised due to last-minute injuries.
Cox batted at No.3 for the Oval Invincibles during their successful Hundred campaign, scoring a crucial 28-ball 40 in the final. That is where he batted for England in the two T20Is last year as well. However, with Buttler now having dropped from opening to No.3, Cox might have to be accommodated in the middle order, if he gets a game.
The T20Is against Ireland will be played between September 17 and 21, after the conclusion of the T20I series against South Africa. Cox is not part of that squad.
England squad for Ireland T20Is
Batters
Tom Banton.
Wicketkeepers
Jos Buttler, Phil Salt, Jordan Cox.
All-rounders
Jacob Bethell (c), Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, Tom Hartley, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton.
Bowlers
Sonny Baker, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.
