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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy was Italy's cricket team in a pasta bind? Saucy bowling.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Italy cricket team)

Italy
NicknameGli Azzurri (lit. 'The Blues')
AssociationItalian Cricket Federation
Personnel
CaptainHarry Manenti[1]
CoachJohn Davison
History
Twenty20 debutv  Oman at Dubai; 13 March 2012
International Cricket Council
ICC statusAffiliate (1984)
Associate member (1995)
ICC regionEurope
ICC Rankings Current[2] Best-ever
T20I 23rd 22nd (16 June 2019)
International cricket
First internationalv  Denmark at Bagsværd; 15 July 1989
One Day Internationals
World Cup Qualifier appearances2 (first in 1997)
Best resultFirst round (1997, 2001)
T20 Internationals
First T20Iv  Germany at Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht; 25 May 2019
Last T20Iv  West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata; 19 February 2026
T20Is Played Won/Lost
Total[3] 43 26/16 (0 ties, 1 no result)
This year[4] 7 2/5 (0 ties, 0 no results)
T20 World Cup appearances1 (first in 2026)
Best resultGroup stage (2026)
T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances4[a] (first in 2012)
Best result2nd place (2025)

T20I and List A kit

As of 19 February 2026

The Italy men's national cricket team represents Italy in men's international cricket. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The Italy national cricket team is administered by the Italian Cricket Federation.

History

[edit]

Early history

[edit]

The earliest mention of cricket in Italy is of a match played by Admiral Nelson's sailors in 1793 during a stop in Naples harbour.[5] Around the end of the 19th century, several combined cricket and association football clubs formed, including the world-famous A.C. Milan, which was originally the Milan Cricket and Football Club and the first Italian football team Genoa Cricket and Football Club, which was originally the Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. But these clubs soon forgot about cricket and concentrated on football. Cricket started to be revived after the Second World War.[6] Cricket flourished in Rome in the 1960s at a superb field which looked across to St. Peter's dome from Villa Doria Pamphili. The Australian and British embassies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Commonwealth War Graves Association, the Venerable English College and Beda College fielded teams which competed for the Rome Ashes there until, in the 1970s, the Villa became a public park.[7]

When cricket resumed in Rome on other grounds at the end of the 1970s, four of the Villa Doria Pamphili-era players formed in 1980 the Doria Pamphili Cricket Club: the Italian-Sri Lankan Francis Alphonsus Jayarajah, the Italian-Indian Massimo da Costa, the Australian Desmond O'Grady and the Syrian Issam Kahale.[8]

In the same period, some cricket was played in the northern part of Italy with the Milan Cricket Club being formed in the 1970s and Euratom CC in the 1980s.

Modern history

[edit]

The "Federazione Cricket Italiana" (Italian Cricket Federation) was formed in 1980,[6] and they became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1984, and were promoted to associate member in 1995.[9]

After years of matches against neighboring nations such as France and Germany, in 1996, Italy took part in the first European Championship in Denmark, finishing seventh after beating Israel in a play-off.[10] They took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in the 1997 tournament and performed poorly, finishing joint last out of the 22 participants.[11] They finished fifth in the following year's European Championship in which they caused the biggest upset to date in the history of the game by beating the England XI in the promotion/relegation playoff.[12]

In 1999, Italy took part in a quadrangular tournament in Gibraltar also featuring France and Israel.[13] They won the tournament, beating the hosts in the final.[14] They finished fifth in Division One of the European Championship the following year[15] and were due to participate in the 2001 ICC Trophy, but pulled out at the last minute due to a dispute over the eligibility of four players, Italian citizens by birth but not resident in Italy. The dispute was happily resolved by ICC a year later with the recognition of citizenship as a criterion for eligibility in national teams.[16]

The 2002 European Championship saw Italy finish sixth in Division One,[17] relegating them for 2004 to Division Two, which they promptly won.[18] This qualified them for the repêchage tournament for the 2005 ICC Trophy in early 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They finished seventh in that tournament after beating Zambia in a play-off.[19]

They took part in Division One of the European Championship in 2006, finishing fifth.[20]

In May–June 2007, they travelled to Darwin, Australia, to take part in Division Three of the World Cricket League. They finished seventh after beating Fiji in a play-off, and played in Division Four of the World Cricket League in 2008 to come third and remained in 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four.[21] With a second-place finish there, they were promoted to 2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, where they came 4th to remain in 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. They had a chance of reaching the 2015 Cricket World Cup, if they finished in the top two in the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, and then in the top two of the 2013 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. An encouraging start to this tournament witnessed wins over Oman (9 wickets) and United States (8 runs), followed by defeats, narrowly to Ireland (2 wickets) and more comprehensively against Kenya (7 wickets). After finishing last in this tournament they were relegated to Division Four in 2014.

In November 2013 they competed in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE, their highest level of competition to date. They finished 9th place with victories over the US, and higher-ranked opponents in UAE and Namibia.

2018–present: T20I status

[edit]

In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Italy and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the T20I status.[22]

In September 2018, Italy qualified from Group B of the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier to the Regional Finals of the tournament.[23]

Italy played their first T20I against Germany in May 2019.

25 May 2019
11:00
Scorecard
Germany 
53 (16 overs)
v
 Italy
57/3 (8.4 overs)
Ahmed Wardak 20* (27)
Michael Ross 4/15 (4 overs)
Joy Perera 21 (10)
Izatullah Dawlatzai 2/17 (4 overs)
Italy won by 7 wickets
Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht
Umpires: Rizwan Akram (Ned) and Huub Jansen (Ned)
  • Germany won the toss and elected to bat.
  • First ever T20I match for Italy.

On July 11, 2025, following a stunning 12-run upset over Scotland at the European Regional Final,[24][25]

9 July 2025
11:00
Scorecard
Italy 
167/6 (20 overs)
v
 Scotland
155/5 (20 overs)
Emilio Gay 50 (21)
Michael Leask 3/18 (3 overs)
George Munsey 72 (61)
Harry Manenti 5/31 (4 overs)
Italy won by 12 runs
Sportpark Westvliet, Voorburg
Umpires: Roland Black (Ire) and Russell Warren (Eng)
Player of the match: Harry Manenti (Ita)
  • Italy won the toss and elected to bat.

Italy sealed a spot at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup after finishing at second-place beating Jersey on net run rate.[26][27]

The Irish cricket team toured UAE in January 2026 for a three match T20I series against Italy.[28][29] In the 3rd T20I, Italy shocked Ireland in what would be their first win against a full member side in men's T20I cricket.[30]

26 January 2026
18:00 (N)
Scorecard
Ireland 
154 (19.4 overs)
v
 Italy
157/6 (19.3 overs)
Paul Stirling 45 (38)
Crishan Kalugamage 3/28 (4 overs)
Wayne Madsen 39 (30)
Mark Adair 2/23 (4 overs)
Matthew Humphreys 2/23 (4 overs)
Italy won by 4 wickets
The Sevens Stadium, Dubai
Umpires: Aasif Iqbal (UAE) and Shiju Sam (UAE)
  • Italy won the toss and elected to field.
12 February 2026 (2026-02-12)
15:00 UTC+5:30 (D/N)
Scorecard
Nepal   
123 (19.3 overs)
v
 Italy
124/0 (12.4 overs)
Aarif Sheikh 27 (24)
Crishan Kalugamage 3/18 (4 overs)
Italy won 10 wickets
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Umpires: Donovan Koch (Aus) and Sam Nogajski (Aus)
Player of the match: Crishan Kalugamage (Ita)
  • Italy won the toss and elected to field.
  • This was the first time Italy and Nepal faced each other in T20Is.[31]
  • This was the first World Cup match victory for Italy across all formats.[32]

Squad composition and citizenship controversies

[edit]

Italy has historically featured a large number of dual nationals in its squads at ICC tournaments, particularly Australian, English and South African players of Italian descent, who have never resided in Italy and do not play in Italian domestic cricket.[33] The team withdrew from the 2001 ICC Trophy after the ICC ruled that citizenship by descent would not be sufficient for player eligibility, thereby disqualifying four members of the Italian squad including former Australian domestic player Joe Scuderi.[34][35]

In 2023, it was reported that Italy had pursued a strategy of recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England to play in the regional final of the 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including South African Wayne Madsen and Australians Ben Manenti, Harry Manenti and Spencer Johnson. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, had only tenuous direct connections with Italy.[36]

Italy's squad for its inaugural appearance at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup included no Italian-born players. Only five out of the fifteen players named in the World Cup squad were Italian residents, all of whom had immigrated from South Asian countries as teenagers or young adults.[33][37] JJ Smuts, a South African franchise player, was named in Italy's squad after acquiring Italian citizenship via his wife, whose great-grandfather was born in Italy.[38]

Tournament records

[edit]
Legend
  •    Champions
  •    Runners-up
  •    Third place/Semi-finals
  •    Tournament hosted by Italy
  •  Q   Qualified/Advanced to next stage
  •  DNQ   Did not qualify
  • Rise Promoted
  • Same position Remained in the same division
  • Fall Relegated

Cricket World Cup

[edit]
Cricket World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W L T NR Pld W L T NR
England 1975Not an ICC memberNot an ICC member
England 1979
England Wales 1983
India Pakistan 1987Not eligible; ICC affiliate memberNot eligible; ICC affiliate member
Australia New Zealand 1992
Pakistan India Sri Lanka1996Did not qualifyDid not enter
England Wales Scotland Republic of Ireland Netherlands 199950401
South Africa Zimbabwe Kenya 2003Withdrew
Cricket West Indies 2007135800
India Sri Lanka Bangladesh 2011116500
Australia New Zealand 20151771000
England Wales 2019123900
India 2023155901
South Africa Zimbabwe Namibia 2027To be determined12*9102
TotalN/a0/13–––––85354604

Cricket World Cup Qualifier

[edit]
Cricket World Cup Qualifier records
Year Round Position Pld W L T NR Qual.
England 1979Not an ICC member[9]
England 1982
England 1986
Netherlands 1990Not eligible; ICC affiliate member[9]
Kenya 1994
Malaysia 1997Group stage21/2140400DNQ
Namibia 2001Qualified; withdrew
2005—2023Did not qualify
Total0 Titles1/1240400N/a

Men's T20 World Cup

[edit]
Men's T20 World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W L T NR Pld W L T NR
South Africa 2007Did not qualifyDid not participate
England 2009
Cricket West Indies 2010
Sri Lanka 2012168800
Bangladesh 20141610501
India 201653200
United Arab Emirates Oman 2021108200
Australia 202263300
United States Cricket West Indies 2024118201
India Sri Lanka 2026Group stage14/204130097101
Australia New Zealand 2028To be determinedTo be determined
Total0 Titles1/104130073472303

T20 World Cup Qualifier

[edit]
T20 World Cup Qualifier records
Year Round Position Pld W L T NR Qual.
Ireland 2008Did not qualify
United Arab Emirates 2010
United Arab Emirates 2012Play-offs10/1693600DNQ
United Arab Emirates 2013Play-offs9/1693501DNQ
Ireland Scotland 2015Did not qualify
United Arab Emirates 2019
Oman 2022
To Be Determined 2028Qualified
Total3/80 Titles1861101N/a

T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final

[edit]
T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final record[a]
Year Round Position Pld W L T NR Qual.
Guernsey 2019Round-robin3/653200DNQ
Spain 2021Round-robin3/463300DNQ
Scotland 2023Round-robin3/763201DNQ
Netherlands 2025Round-robin2/542101Q
To Be Determined 2027Received a bye to the qualifier
Total5/60 Titles2111802N/a

Other global tournaments

[edit]
CWC Challenge League (List A) CWC Challenge League Play-off (List A) World Cricket League (LA/ODI/50 overs)
  • 2024: Runners-up (Q)

Other regional tournaments

[edit]
T20WC Europe Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I) European Cricket Championship (LA/50 overs) European T20 C'ship Division One (T20)
  • 2018 : Winners (Q)
  • 2022 : Winners (Q)
  • 2024 : Winners (Q)
  • 2026 : Received a bye
  • 1996 : 7th place
  • 1998 : 5th place
  • 2000 : 5th place
  • 2002 : 6th place
  • 2006 : 5th place
  • 2008 : 5th place
  • 2010 : 6th place

Current squad

[edit]

Italy's squad for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup in February 2026 included the following players:[39]

Name Age Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
Anthony Mosca35Right-handedRight-arm off break
Justin Mosca31Left-handedRight-arm medium
Syed Naqvi32Right-handedRight-arm medium
Zain Ali25Right-handedRight-arm off break
All-rounders
Wayne Madsen42Right-handedRight-arm off breakCaptain
Grant Stewart32Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
JJ Smuts37Right-handedLeft-arm orthodox spin
Jaspreet Singh33Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
Benjamin Manenti29Right-handedRight-arm off break
Harry Manenti26Right-handedRight-arm off break
Wicket-keepers
Marcus Campopiano32Right-handedRight-arm offbreak
Gian-Piero Meade29Right-handedRight-arm medium
Spin Bowlers
Crishan Kalugamage35Right-handedRight-arm leg spin
Pace Bowlers
Thomas Draca28Right-handedRight-arm fast
Ali Hasan23Right-handedLeft-arm medium-fast

Coaching staff

[edit]
Role Name
Head coachJohn Davison
Assistant CoachDougie Brown
Assistant CoachKevin O’Brien
Team ManagerPeter DiVenuto
PhysiotherapistThihan Chandramohan
Strength & Conditioning CoachMarco Mastrorocco
AnalystMohsin Sheikh

International grounds

[edit]
Italy national cricket team is located in Italy
Roma CG
Jesselton CG
Jesselton CG
Simar CG
Locations of all stadiums which have hosted an international cricket match within Italy
GroundCityRegionCapacityMatches hostedNotes
Roma Cricket GroundRomeLazio1,000T20Is, ICC qualifiersMain venue for Italy's national team; hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifiers
Jesselton Cricket GroundJesoloVeneto800T20IsUsed for ICC Europe development tournaments
Simar Cricket GroundPalermoSicily1,200T20IsHosts international matches; part of ICC Europe's southern development region

Records and statistics

[edit]

International Match Summary — Italy

[edit]

Last updated 19 February 2026[40]

Playing Record
FormatMWLTNRInaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals4326160125 May 2019

Twenty20 International

[edit]

Most T20I runs for Italy[44]

PlayerRunsAverageCareer span
Anthony Mosca57338.202022–2026
Grant Stewart53228.002021–2026
Justin Mosca48623.142022–2026
Marcus Campopiano47729.812022–2026
Harry Manenti41220.602022–2026

Most T20I wickets for Italy[45]

PlayerWicketsAverageCareer span
Harry Manenti3413.732022–2026
Crishan Kalugamage2717.742022–2026
Jaspreet Singh2421.082019–2026
Gareth Berg2016.452022–2024
Grant Stewart2024.952021–2026

T20I record versus other nations[40]

Records complete to T20I #3724. Last updated 19 February 2026.

OpponentMWLTNRFirst matchFirst win
vs Full Members
 England1010016 February 2026
 Ireland4130020 July 202326 January 2026
 West Indies1010019 February 2026
vs Associate Members
 Croatia1100016 July 202216 July 2022
 Denmark5310118 June 201915 October 2021
 Finland1100013 July 202213 July 2022
 France1100010 June 202410 June 2024
 Germany8530025 May 201925 May 2019
 Greece1100012 July 202212 July 2022
 Guernsey2200016 June 201916 June 2019
 Isle of Man2200019 July 202219 July 2022
 Jersey4130019 June 201923 July 2023
 Luxembourg110009 June 20249 June 2024
   Nepal1100012 February 202612 February 2026
 Netherlands1010011 July 2025
 Norway1100015 June 201915 June 2019
 Romania1100016 June 202416 June 2024
 Scotland3120024 July 20239 July 2025
 Spain211005 November 20226 November 2022
 Sweden1100015 July 202215 July 2022
 Turkey1100013 June 202413 June 2024

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 For the 2024 and 2026 Men's T20 World Cups, the final round of qualification in Europe was the ICC Europe Regional Final.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Italy axe captain Joe Burns for Men's T20 World Cup 2026". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  2. ↑ "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
  3. ↑ "T20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  4. ↑ "T20I matches - 2026 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  5. ↑ "AC Milan Was Founded As A Cricket Club! How Italy's T20 World Debut Was 233 Years In The Making".
  6. 1 2 "Article about Italian cricket". Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 15 March 2006.
  7. ↑ Lombardo, Ilario; Fasola, Giacomo; Moscatelli, Francesco (10 October 2013). Italian Cricket Club Ilario Lombardo, Giacomo Fasola, Francesco. Benezit Dictionary of Artists. ISBN 9788867830541.
  8. ↑ "The European Club Cricket Tournament Rome Capanelle CC (Italy) squad". ecct.hitscricket.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 Italy at CricketArchive
  10. ↑ 1996 European Championship Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  11. ↑ 1997 ICC Trophy Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine at Cricinfo
  12. ↑ 1998 European Championship Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  13. ↑ 1999 Gibraltar quadrangular at Cricinfo
  14. ↑ Scorecard of Gibraltar v Italy, 25 September 1999 at Cricinfo
  15. ↑ 2000 European Championship Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  16. ↑ Italy Withdraws from ICC Trophy, ICC Media Release, 25 June 2001
  17. ↑ 2002 European Championship Official site Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine, results section
  18. ↑ 2004 European Championship Division Two results Archived 1 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine, European Cricket Council website
  19. ↑ Scorecard of Italy v Zambia, 27 February 2005 at CricketArchive
  20. ↑ 2006 European Championship Division One Archived 8 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  21. ↑ Uganda lift Division Three title Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Andrew Nixon, 2 June 2007 at CricketEurope
  22. ↑ "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Italy secure place in European final". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  24. ↑ Abraham, Timothy (9 July 2025). "Italy on verge of T20 World Cup after stunning Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  25. ↑ Gayler, Maya (10 July 2025). "Italy One Win Away from T20 World Cup Dream After Upset Over Scotland". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  26. ↑ Abraham, Timothy (11 July 2025). "Italy qualify for T20 World Cup for first time as Jersey miss out". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  27. ↑ "Italy qualify for men's T20 World Cup for the first time in history, to play in 2026 edition hosted by India, Sri Lanka". The Hindustan Times. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  28. ↑ "UAE to host Ireland ahead of T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  29. ↑ "Ireland set to play Italy ahead of T20 World Cup 2026". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  30. ↑ "Italy earn landmark win over Ireland in T20 match". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  31. ↑ "Buoyed by strong support, Paudel's Nepal search for two points against Italy". ESPNcricinfo. 11 February 2026. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
  32. ↑ "T20 World Cup: Mosca brothers power Italy to historic win over Nepal". KhelWire. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  33. 1 2 Giuffrida, Angela (5 February 2026). "'I would call it a miracle': Italy's motley crew prepare for T20 Cricket World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  34. ↑ "Scuderi included in Italian squad for ICC Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. 25 April 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  35. ↑ "Italy Withdraws from ICC Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. 25 June 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  36. ↑ Roller, Matt (22 February 2023). "Johnson, Madsen, Manenti sign up for Berg's Italian Job". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  37. ↑ Sudarshanan, S. (23 July 2025). "New skies for the Azzuri: Italy's long road to T20 World Cup qualification". ESPN. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  38. ↑ "Italy's Jon-Jon Smuts: I'm learning that Italian bond – we are all coming together for one cause". Club Cricket South Africa. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  39. ↑ "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier gets underway in Scotland". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  40. 1 2 "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  41. ↑ "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  42. ↑ "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  43. ↑ "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  44. ↑ "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  45. ↑ "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
[edit]
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