KOLKATA: We probably still think we're better at rugby than we are at cricket,” laughs Benjamin Manenti, sitting next to his brother Harry. The backdrop to this question was that their father, John Manenti, is an Australian rugby union coach and head coach of the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby. With his Italian passport, the Australian has coached rugby in Italy and even played there.
On Monday, the brothers, Benjamin and Harry, took the field for Italy as the European nation made its T20 World Cup debut against Scotland at Eden Gardens here. Growing up in Sydney, the Manentis played rugby during winter and cricket during summer. As much as they loved rugby, cricket during the summer became their path. “It wasn't by choice. It was just sort of the way it panned out. Which, now, we are very grateful. We definitely didn't just have our eyes on cricket. We would have played whatever we could,” Benjamin explains.
Much like the other Australian-born players in the squad, the Manentis’ grandparents migrated to North Queensland, leaving Italy after the war in the 20th century. Now, Italy gave a chance to give back to their ancestors and showcase their talent at the highest stage — something they did not want to miss out on. “He (John) coached the Australian Sevens team. He has gone to the Olympics thrice. He's done well in rugby, and now we get to do it in cricket,” says Benjamin.
However, the road to this point was not straightforward. Benjamin had moved up the ranks and was playing for the Sydney Sixers when he did an interview on SBS, where he spoke about his Italian heritage. Shortly after, he got a call from the Italian Cricket Federation, but it was not until after another year or so that things started to materialise. In the meantime, they moved to Tasmania, spent some time playing cricket there, and eventually moved to South Australia.
Interestingly, even as Benjamin continued to play for South Australia, it was Harry who made his debut, along with Justin and Anthony Mosca before him in 2022.
“I had my passport because I was going to play club cricket in England. I think Harry would have still been at school. And AJ (Mosca) and Justin (Mosca) didn't have their passports yet either. It was just going to be me. No one else I knew. I left it for 18 months. And then AJ and Justin got their passports, Harry finished school, and got his passport. They all actually went and played a tournament before me. So I had commitments elsewhere. But they went and played their first tournament and said it was awesome,” Benjamin recalls.
Soon, Benjamin was on his way, making his debut in 2023 during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Region Qualifier. Italy fell short in the end, but the performance in the tournament gave them belief. And the belief translated into success over the next two years as they qualified for the 2026 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. As brothers, Italy is the major team the Manentis have played together apart from club cricket since the early days. Benjamin plays for the Sixers, and Harry dons the Adelaide Strikers jersey in the Big Bash League. And when either of them was playing for South Australia, the other was injured or not in the team. When the opportunity came knocking, they wanted to grab it with both hands. “Anyone in Australia, India, England or wherever you're from, you aim to play for your country, of course. We didn't realise that there was a pathway to Italy growing up, and it's probably something that we didn't dream of until it became an option. Then, once we had the opportunity, our dream was to play in the World Cup for Italy,” says Harry.
Ask them what it means to play for Italy, he adds: “The connection to our family is massive. Cricket came from our family, so it came from our parents and our grandparents. That Italian connection has always been there, and growing up. There are plenty of people playing local cricket with Italian connections, and people come up to us all the time. Even at games in the Big Bash, I had people coming up and saying how they are Italian and the connection and how they didn't think there was a team to follow, and now they do. It's really cool what we're doing and to be able to connect to our community back home and our family is even more special.”
Coming into the World Cup, they have also tried to pick the brains of Australian internationals with whom they play in the BBL. Though they play alongside Travis Head and Alex Carey in South Australia, Benjamin calls the Australian opener a “freak” before adding that he spoke at length with Steve Smith before coming to the T20 World Cup. “I play with Travis Head and Alex Carey, so I speak to them a lot. I've spoken to Steve Smith a fair bit over the last couple of weeks about the way he goes about it over here. He has given some really good points. Travis is a bit different. He's just a freak. He just walks out and hits the ball over the fence. I don't have that luxury down at No 6. We're very lucky to have a lot of good players around us that we play with back home. They have all got their eyes on the Italians. I think Italy will be everyone's second-favourite team behind their own country. Hopefully, we get a bit of a support base from that,” says Benjamin.
As they took the field on Monday morning against Scotland, marking a historic occasion for Italian cricket, the likes of Smith, Head, Carey and millions of Italians in Australia and all over the world will be rooting for them.