Ben Calitz

Benjamin Fredeman Calitz (born 6 July 2002) is a Canadian-born Irish cricketer. Calitz played youth cricket in Canada, representing the country in the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, but moved to Ireland in 2022 and became eligible to play for the Irish team in 2025. He made his Twenty20 International debut for Ireland in September 2025 and was named in Ireland's squad for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup.

Early life and career Calitz was born in Vancouver where his South African father, also named Ben, worked as a rugby coach. While growing up, he also spent time living in both South Africa and Namibia. Calitz played for Canada's under-19 cricket team, and was in their squad for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Calitz had his first international contract in Ireland as an eighteen-year-old, and after a conversation with Irish international cricketer Mark Adair decided to move to Ireland and seek to play for the Irish team after the three-year qualification period.

Calitz made his Twenty20 debut for the Knights in the 2024 Inter-Provincial Trophy on 8 May 2024, and then made his List A debut in the 2024 Inter-Provincial Cup the next day.

Playing for Ireland Calitz became eligible to play cricket for the Irish cricket team on 1 April 2025, The morning after playing another match against the Afghanistan team, Calitz was suffering from side pain and went to a hospital in Abu Dhabi, where he had an appendectomy. The recovery from the surgery meant he missed the beginning of the 2025 Irish domestic season. Calitz earned his maiden call-up for their first-ever T20I series against England. He made his Twenty20 International debut in the third match of the series on 21 September, scoring 22 runs.

Having played only two Twenty20 Internationals for Ireland, Calitz was included in their squad for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup.