CHENNAI: When Italy captain Joe Burns opted to bat against Netherlands in their last match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Europe Qualifier on Friday, he and the Azzurri knew 40 overs stood between them and living a ridiculous dream. That dream became real when they prevented Netherlands from chasing 135 in 15 overs. The hosts did hunt down the target but it was only after Italy advanced at Jersey's expense via Net Run Rate.
For someone looking at the results in the Europe region qualifiers over the past week, it might come as a surprise, but this qualification has been in the making for a long time now. The work the Italian Cricket Federation has put in over the years is yielding results. They put in place a squad with several players having a solid foundation in Australia and England. Clubs are organised (there are more than a 100) and there is a sense of belonging. Just before the competition, pre-tournament preparatory camps were held in Rome and Sussex.
Former Ireland captain and Italy assistant coach Kevin O'Brien attests to it. "We have played some good cricket (through the Qualifiers) and I think it stems back to the training camp in Rome and in England," O'Brien, who has been with Italy since 2022, tells this daily. "We assembled around June 20, had a week in Rome, got together as a team, and then moved to the UK for five or six days. We trained based on what we felt we needed to do in the tournament, the particular skills, just from the information we had on the ground, pitches. We really practised those specific skills in the training camp. Obviously the guys have executed those skills very well."
For a country with a rich sporting culture in football and several other disciplines, cricket is still at a very nascent stage.
Italian in the dressing room
The facilities currently in the country are less than ideal; pitches are artificial and cricket grounds are sparse. The sport, however, is slowly but steadily growing with conscious effort put in to build a cricketing culture of their own. For example, the players, several of whom recently pledged allegiances to the country of origin, and the support staff talk Italian in the dressing room. "It's something that we are aware of because we want to keep the Italian heritage, we want to keep the Italian culture within the team," he says.
"So that's an important part, certainly from my side, to try and continue and learn their language. I'm still learning. It's just trying to get to talk whenever I sit down and have breakfast with the home-based boys (there are about six of them). A lot of the guys in and around, whether it's the Australian boys or the English-based boys, we can all communicate in a little bit of Italian. It's a nice little mix. From my point of view, I want to try and get to a level where I can have a conversation with the home-based players. If I'm down on a weekend training camp, I can talk to the younger players, maybe under-19s and the younger players in Italian, just to make the communication a little bit easier."
While he admits that it might be a while before a player born and bred in Italy comes up the ranks, he feels a roadmap is being laid for that with long-term goals in mind. "That's going to happen with the resources and the time that's being put into the schools programme. For long term success, Italian cricket can't rely continually on the people whose parents and grandparents moved for various reasons. I think it's important that Italian cricket start to develop their own players and get cricket into young boys and girls all around Italy. They will see the benefits of that in 5-10 years time," he said.
As things stand, several players of the team, including captain Joe Burns, are from Australia with Italian lineage. Manenti brothers, Harry and Benjamin, and Thomas Draca are from Australia — over the past few years, they moved to Italy with a pursuit taking the country to the T20 World Cup. Burns, who smashed a century against Romania in the sub-regional qualifiers, spoke about what it means in a conversation with this daily last year. “My story is very similar to a lot of Italians my age. It was always on the radar. But now I just feel like with my experience and at my age, there's a lot that I can give to Italian cricket."
O'Brien feels the aforementioned players along with Grant Stewart, who has been around for the past few years, can bring a professional attitude to the set up. "They bring that kind of attitude and that atmosphere for the local players to learn off and a desire to win and a desire to compete and get better every day. Those guys are bringing tremendous value into the overall set up. We're very grateful to have them. It's important that we continue to nurture that kind of atmosphere within the team. Ultimately the home-based players are getting better every day. They are learning how to play more consistently on grass wickets," O' Brien said.
"At the moment in Italy, there are no grass wickets. But there is a plan and an idea within certainly the coaching set up here and also talking to the federation. It's how we can get some grass wickets in Italy to allow the home-based players of men's and women's teams instead of solely playing on turf. That's another goal of the federation. That will again push cricket in Italy forward if we can do that as soon as possible," he added.
Even as they continue to work on getting better as a cricketing nation, the re-inclusion of the sport in the Olympics has certainly helped in terms of funding and infrastructure from the government. The Italian National Olympic Committee, also known as CONI, has apparently contacted the cricket association regarding getting a dedicated ground with a dressing room and training facilities for the sport. "If it can become a really big Olympic sport, I think it's going to benefit not just Italian cricket, but I think a lot of the countries around the world, certainly the smaller countries," said O'Brien.
The former Irish batter knows what qualification can do. In 2007, Ireland featured in the 50-over World Cup in the West Indies where they beat Pakistan. "Getting to the World Cup is amazing and you want good performances at the World Cup, but I think the publicity and the performances at the World Cup can really help Italian cricket for the next 10 or 15 years in terms of improving home facilities, training facilities at home and having a high-performance centre in Rome. I think that's really important and the players know that and they really bought into what we're trying to do here with the team. It's a really passionate group of players who are very talented cricketers and like to work hard," said the Irishman.
Italy might not have finished the tournament at the top of the table with Netherlands having the final say on Friday, but they have certainly made history with the qualification.