Whilst the Italian national football team face a battle to avoid missing out on a third consecutive FIFA World Cup next year, their burgeoning cricketing counterparts took a major step towards creating a more favourable history of their own by closing in on a first T20 World Cup appearance.
Ranked 32nd in the world behind Saudi Arabia, the Azzurri are surprise leaders at the European Regional Qualifying tournament in the Netherlands with one game still to play but possess a vastly superior net run rate which means they are set to secure one of the two spots up for grabs at the main 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 put them in pole position epitomised the progress the Italian side have made in recent years, given it was the Scots who handed out a 155-run thumping at the same stage in 2023, before they went on to give a credible account of themselves in the Caribbean a year later.
It was at 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 in their opening game.
Fuelled by that experience, the Italians romped through the Sub-regional Qualifier A process with a 100% record, including a demolition job of Romania in the final, to advance to the final five round-robin stage where they would have to get the better of a much more experienced Dutch or Scotland side to stand a chance.
By successfully defending 167 to stun the world number ranked 13 side Scotland in their crunch encounter, Italy now know a win over Netherlands in the final 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 when they face each other.
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Australian core and England prospect underpinning growing ambition
To supplement leading Italian-based players, they have also been able to draw upon a select few experienced players who have qualified to represent Italy through dual citizenship or family heritage.
Former Australia opener Joe Burns, who made four centuries in 23 Tests between 2014-2020, is captaining the side at the age of 35 after switching allegiances to honour his late brother and became just the sixth player to score a ton for two separate nations in 2024.
The Manenti brothers, Ben and Harry, from Sydney, have also become key all-rounders in the squad.
Off-spinner Ben is a two-time Big Bash League winner with the Sydney Sixers and also secured the Sheffield Shield with South Australia in March this year, 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 a regular for Kent in English county cricket over the years, showcasing his big-hitting capabilities in the lower order with a valuable 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 during 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 in the County Championship last season and made four consecutive half-centuries to start Italy’s 50-over World Cup qualification campaign in November, has an Italian mother but given that Italy are not a ICC Full Member nation, his inclusion in the squad does not impact his future eligibility to represent his country of birth.
Derbyshire stalwart Wayne Madsen and former England seamer Jade Dernbach have both 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 without any proper turf pitches, there is no underestimating what sort of impact Italy’s presence at the T20 World Cup may have for future generations and wider European cricket in general.
Burns recently discussed the opportunity for his groundbreaking side to “create a legacy”, with qualification, the potential catalyst for T20 cricket to really explode in the country.
The expanded T20 World Cup format introduced in 2024 sees 20 participants and allows for more associate qualifiers to test themselves against some of the best teams in the world on the biggest stage, with co-hosts USA’s dramatic super-over victory over Pakistan a notable highlight of last year’s edition.
The emergence of franchise leagues around the world in nations such as the US, Canada, UAE and Nepal is also providing a platform to grow the game further and for domestic players to showcase their skills amongst leading international stars.
The recent tri-series between Scotland, Netherlands and Nepal in the 2024-26 ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 – part of the 2027 World Cup qualification process – was a fine example of the drama and passion that surrounds associate cricket as a partisan Nepalese support witnessed their side serve up a number of thrilling finales, including three super-overs in their game against Netherlands in the subsequent T20 series.
By Dom Harris