Italy, a country famous for producing legendary footballers, may have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Fifa World Cup, but the Azzurri are now on the cusp of making cricket history.
The Italian minnows are just one win away from punching their ticket to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka following their 12-run win over Scotland on Wednesday in the European qualifying tournament.
All they need now is a win over the Netherlands on Friday in their final qualifying game to earn a historic berth at a cricket World Cup.
Even a narrow defeat to the Dutch could be enough for them to qualify for the global T20 showpiece, thanks to their superior net run rate in the qualifying tournament.
Outside of the full-member ICC nations from Europe, only the Netherlands and Scotland have qualified for the cricket World Cups in the past.
If the Italian team manage to hold their nerve in the final qualifying game on Friday, it will be a historic moment for the International Cricket Council (ICC), which made considerable investments in developing the sport at the grassroots level across the world.
Leading the Italian bid for a World Cup berth is Joe Burns, a former Australian batsman who scored four hundreds in 23 Test matches.
Last year, Burns, whose grandparents were Italian, decided to move to Italy. After becoming eligible to play for Italy, the elegant opening batsman was named the captain of the team.
His experience and leadership skills have now kept the great Italian cricket dream alive. The 35-year-old believes earning a spot in the T20 World Cup will be a groundbreaking moment for a country that still doesn’t have proper turf wickets. “It’s not lost on us the magnitude of the impact we can have on Italian cricket. We talk a lot as a team about creating a legacy for the generations to come after us,” Burns told the BBC.
“To wear the Italian cap at the World Cup would make us a groundbreaking team. And we think we’ve got the team to get there.” Burns’ maternal grandparents left Italy for Australia following the First World War. But Italy always remained close to his heart, even as he made rapid strides as a cricketer in Australia.
“I often reflect on the bravery and commitment it must have taken my grandparents when they left Italy to start a new life in Australia,” he said.
“They found a way to make it work through adversity, and this has always given me solace through life’s lessons. “Now I’m so proud to represent Italy on our path to the 2026 World Cup.”
On Friday, Burns will hope to lead from the front and pay the perfect tribute to his late brother, an amateur cricketer who died in 2023, by taking Italy to the World Cup.
