Whilst the Italian national football team face a battle to avoid missing out on a 3rd consecutive FIFA World Cup next 12 months, their burgeoning cricketing counterparts took a serious step towards making a more favourable history of their very own by closing in on a primary T20 World Cup appearance.
Ranked thirty second on this planet behind Saudi Arabia, the Azzurri are surprise leaders on the European Regional Qualifying tournament within the Netherlands with one game still to play but possess a vastly superior net run rate which suggests they’re set to secure one in every of the 2 spots up for grabs on the foremost event hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February 2026.
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Making the leap
The shock 12-run victory over Scotland on Wednesday to place them in pole position epitomised the progress the Italian side have made in recent times, given it was the Scots who handed out a 155-run thumping at the identical stage in 2023, before they went on to offer a reputable account of themselves within the Caribbean a 12 months later.
It was on the 2023 qualifying event in Edinburgh where a hopeful Italian side fell just short in third position behind Scotland and Ireland, only nine runs away from a famous win over the latter of their opening game.
Fuelled by that have, the Italians romped through the Sub-regional Qualifier A process with a 100% record, including a demolition job of Romania in the ultimate, to advance to the ultimate five round-robin stage where they’d must get the higher of a far more experienced Dutch or Scotland side to face a probability.
By successfully defending 167 to stun the world number ranked 13 side Scotland of their crunch encounter, Italy now know a win over Netherlands in the ultimate game on Friday would guarantee their maiden World T20 berth, though even a defeat should still see them through unless Scotland or Jersey can overturn a sizeable net run rate after they face one another.
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Australian core and England prospect underpinning growing ambition
To complement leading Italian-based players, they’ve also been in a position to draw upon a select few experienced players who’ve qualified to represent Italy through dual citizenship or family heritage.
Former Australia opener Joe Burns, who made 4 centuries in 23 Tests between 2014-2020, is captaining the side on the age of 35 after switching allegiances to honour his late brother and have become just the sixth player to attain a ton for 2 separate nations in 2024.
The Manenti brothers, Ben and Harry, from Sydney, have also turn into key all-rounders within the squad.
Off-spinner Ben is a two-time Big Bash League winner with the Sydney Sixers and likewise secured the Sheffield Shield with South Australia in March this 12 months, whilst right-arm seamer Harry is the vice-captain and took all five of the Scotland wickets to fall for career-best figures of 5-31.
31-year-old quick Grant Stewart from Western Australia made his debut in 2021 and has been an everyday for Kent in English county cricket over time, showcasing his big-hitting capabilities within the lower order with a useful 27-ball 44 to propel Italy to a competitive 167-6 against Scotland.
Meanwhile, left-handed batter Emilio Gay only made his T20 international debut in the course of the ongoing qualifier tournament, despite the Durham opener featuring for the England Lions against India A just last month.
The 25-year-old, who scored 1,019 runs within the County Championship last season and made 4 consecutive half-centuries to begin Italy’s 50-over World Cup qualification campaign in November, has an Italian mother but provided that Italy are usually not a ICC Full Member nation, his inclusion within the squad doesn’t impact his future eligibility to represent his country of birth.
Derbyshire stalwart Wayne Madsen and former England seamer Jade Dernbach have each also been previous members of the Italy national squad, whilst Ireland legend Kevin O’Brien is currently serving in an assistant head coach role.
Greater exposure for associate nations
For a nation with none proper turf pitches, there isn’t any underestimating what type of impact Italy’s presence on the T20 World Cup could have for future generations and wider European cricket basically.
Burns recently discussed the chance for his groundbreaking side to “create a legacy”, with qualification, the potential catalyst for T20 cricket to essentially explode within the country.
The expanded T20 World Cup format introduced in 2024 sees 20 participants and allows for more associate qualifiers to check themselves against a few of the very best teams on this planet on the most important stage, with co-hosts USA’s dramatic super-over victory over Pakistan a notable highlight of last 12 months’s edition.
The emergence of franchise leagues around the globe in nations similar to the US, Canada, UAE and Nepal can also be providing a platform to grow the sport further and for domestic players to showcase their skills amongst leading international stars.
The recent tri-series between Scotland, Netherlands and Nepal within the 2024-26 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 – a part of the 2027 World Cup qualification process – was a effective example of the drama and keenness that surrounds associate cricket as a partisan Nepalese support witnessed their side serve up numerous thrilling finales, including three super-overs of their game against Netherlands in the next T20 series.
By Dom Harris