England v Ireland: ODI call-up caught Jonathan 'JJ' Garth off guard

Jonathan 'JJ' Garth has represented Ireland Wolves

JJ Garth says he was "surprised but delighted" to be included in Ireland's training squad ahead of the three one-day internationals in England.

Garth is set to be the fourth member of his family to be capped by Ireland, following in the path of sister Kim and parents Jonathan and Anne-Marie.

The 19-year-old leg spinner joins Curtis Campher as the two uncapped players in the 21-man squad.

Ireland face England in three ODIs from 30 July in Southampton.

Academy player Garth had been training with the senior squad after lockdown however he admits the promotion to the senior set-up had caught him off guard.

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"I had been particularly looking forward to training with the Academy, especially after being locked down for three months with no cricket," said the Dubliner.

"It was great to get back to it. Shortly after training in the nets with the senior players, I got a phone call from Ireland head coach Graham Ford telling me there was an outside chance of selection for the training squad.

"That phone call was followed by another call saying that I was included in the squad. I was very surprised but delighted to be included."

Garth made his Ireland Wolves debut against Bangladesh A and represented the team on the tour of Sri Lanka in 2019. An Irish Senior Cup winner with Pembroke, he was also part of the Wolves' T20 squad to play Namibia in South Africa before lockdown.

"I remember my first game for the Wolves against Bangladesh A - I was very excited, but at the same time very nervous," added Garth.

"The Wolves tour to Sri Lanka has probably been my favourite tour so far. It is an amazing country, and to play in Asian conditions for the first time was really exciting. It was a massive and very valuable learning experience for me."

Kim Garth stepped away from Ireland women's set-up in June

Garth comes from a family with strong pedigree in the sport. Both his parents were Irish internationals and sister Kim was vice-captain of the women's team until June before making the switch to play cricket in Australia.

"When I was growing up I played rugby, football and a bit of golf, however my main passion has always been cricket," he said.

"I spent of lot of time playing it with my sister Kim and my brother Rob in the garden and learnt a lot from them.

"I started bowling leg spin when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I was bowling pace up until then, but it was suggested to me to try leg spin as there were so many seamers in Leinster."

The Irish squad arrived in Southampton on Saturday ahead of the intra-squad practice match on Wednesday and a warm-up fixture against England Lions, on 26 July, ahead of the three ODIs.