Italy national cricket team

Last updated

Italy
Italiana.png
Nickname(s)Gli Azzurri (lit.'The Blues ')
Association Italian Cricket Federation
Personnel
Captain Joe Burns [1] (T20I)
Marcus Campopiano (List A)
Coach John Davison
History
Twenty20 debutv Flag of Oman.svg  Oman at Dubai; 13 March 2012
International Cricket Council
ICC statusAffiliate (1984)
Associate member (1995)
ICC region Europe
ICC RankingsCurrent [2] Best-ever
T20I 28th 22th (16 June 2019)
International cricket
First internationalv Flag of Denmark.svg  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 Flag of Germany.svg  Germany at Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd, Utrecht; 25 May 2019
Last T20Iv Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands at Sportpark Westvliet, Voorburg; 11 July 2025
T20IsPlayedWon/Lost
Total [3] 36 24/11 (0 ties, 1 no result)
This year [4] 3 2/1 (0 ties, 0 no results)
T20 World Cup appearances1 (first in 2026 )
Best resultTBD
T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances4 [a] (first in 2012 )
Best result2nd place (2025)
Kit left arm.svg
Kit body blue bandshoulder.png
Kit body.svg
Kit right arm.svg
Kit trousers long.png

T20I kit

As of 1 July 2025

The Italy men's national cricket team is the team that represents the nation of 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. [5] The Italy national cricket team is administered by the Italian Cricket Federation.

Contents

History

Early history

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[ citation needed ]. 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

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. [5]

The first record match by the Italy national team was touring their first UK Tour in August 1984 and played a week of cricket against local London clubs, the first losing against Enfield CC, but ending on a high with their first win in the last match against North Middlesex.

The first international match played by the Italy national team was a draw against Denmark in 1989.

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. [9] 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. [10] 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. [11]

In 1999, Italy took part in a quadrangular tournament in Gibraltar also featuring France and Israel. [12] They won the tournament, beating the hosts in the final. [13] They finished fifth in Division One of the European Championship the following year [14] 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 reesident 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. [15]

The 2002 European Championship saw Italy finish sixth in Division One, [16] relegating them for 2004 to Division Two, which they promptly won. [17] 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. [18]

They took part in Division One of the European Championship in 2006, finishing fifth. [19] 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. [20] 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

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. [21]

In September 2018, Italy qualified from Group B of the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier to the Regional Finals of the tournament. [22]

Italy played their first T20I against Germany in May 2019.

25 May 2019
11:00
Scorecard
Germany  Flag of Germany.svg
53 (16 overs)
v
Flag of Italy.svg  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.

From August 2019, Italy will play in the 2019–21 ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League. [23]

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. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, may have arguably only tenuous direct connections with Italy. [24] On July 11, 2025, following a stunning 12-run upset over Scotland at the European Regional Final, [25] [26]

9 July 2025
11:00
Scorecard
Italy  Flag of Italy.svg
167/6 (20 overs)
v
Flag of Scotland.svg  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. They overcame third-place Jersey on net run rate. [27] [28]

Tournament records

ICC Cricket World Cup

World Cup record
YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of England.svg 1975 Did not qualify, no ICC ODI status
Flag of England.svg 1979
Flag of England.svg 1983
Flag of India.svg Flag of Pakistan.svg 1987
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Flag of New Zealand.svg 1992
Flag of Pakistan.svg Flag of India.svg Flag of Sri Lanka.svg 1996
Flag of England.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Flag of Scotland.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg 1999
Flag of South Africa.svg 2003
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg 2007
Flag of India.svg Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Flag of Bangladesh.svg 2011
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Flag of New Zealand.svg 2015
Flag of England.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg 2019
Flag of India.svg 2023
Flag of South Africa.svg Flag of Zimbabwe.svg Flag of Namibia.svg 2027 TBD
Flag of India.svg Flag of Bangladesh.svg 2031
Total0/140 Title00000

ICC T20 World Cup

ICC T20 World Cup records
Year/HostRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of South Africa.svg 2007 Did not qualify
Flag of England.svg 2009
WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg 2010
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg 2012
Flag of Bangladesh.svg 2014
Flag of India.svg 2016
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Flag of Oman.svg 2021
Flag of Australia (converted).svg 2022
Flag of the United States.svg WestIndiesCricketFlagPre1999.svg 2024
Flag of India.svg Flag of Sri Lanka.svg 2026 Qualified
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Flag of New Zealand.svg 2028 TBD
Flag of England.svg Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Flag of Scotland.svg Flag of Ireland.svg 2030
Total1/9000000

ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier Regional Final

ICC World TwentyT20 Qualifiers Regional Final records
YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of Guernsey.svg 2019 Round-robin3/653200
Flag of Spain.svg 2021 Round-robin3/463300
Flag of Scotland.svg 2023 Round-robin3/763201
Flag of the Netherlands.svg 2025 Round-robin2/542101
Total4/40 Titles 2111802

Summer Olympics

Cricket at the Summer Olympics records
Host/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of France.svg 1900 Did not participate
Total0/10 Titles00000

ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League

ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League records
Host/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of Oman.svg Flag of Jersey.svg Flag of Uganda.svg 2019–2022 Round-robin9/12155901
Flag of Hong Kong.svg Flag of Uganda.svg 2024–2026 Round-robin2/6107102
Total2/20 Titles25121003

ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off

World Cricket League

ICC Trophy

ICC Trophy records
Host/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of England.svg 1979 Not eligible–Not an ICC member [5]
Flag of England.svg 1982
Flag of England.svg 1986
Flag of the Netherlands.svg 1990 Not eligible–ICC affiliate member [5]
Flag of Kenya.svg 1994
Flag of Malaysia.svg 1997 Group stage21/2140400
Flag of Namibia.svg 2001 Qualified, but withdrew
Flag of Ireland.svg 2005 Did not qualify
Total1/80 Titles40400

European Cricket Championship

European Cricket Championship records
Host/YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of Denmark.svg 1996Round-robin7/830300
Flag of the Netherlands.svg 1998Round-robin5/1042200
Flag of Scotland.svg 2000Round-robin5/651400
Flag of Ireland.svg 2002Round-robin6/651400
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg 2004Did not participate
Flag of Scotland.svg 2006Round-robin5/540400
Flag of Guernsey.svg 2008Round-robin5/651301
Flag of Guernsey.svg 2010Round-robin6/651400
Total7/80 Titles3162401

European T20 Championship Division One

European T20 Championship Division One records
YearRoundPositionGPWLTNR
Flag of Jersey.svg 2011 Round-robinRunners-up75200
Flag of England.svg 2013 Round-robinChampion77000
Flag of Jersey.svg 2015 Round-robin3/653200
Total3/31 Title 1915400

Current squad

Italy's squad for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final in July 2025 included the following players: [29]

NameAgeBatting styleBowling styleNotes
Batters
Emilio Gay 25Left-handed-
Anthony Mosca34Right-handedRight-arm off break
Justin Mosca28Left-handed-
Zain Naqvi29Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast
Syed Naqvi31Right-handedRight-arm medium
Zain Ali24Right-handedRight-arm off break
All-rounders
Joe Burns 35Right-handedRight-arm medium-fastCaptain
Grant Stewart 31Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
Damith Kosala35Left-handedLeft-arm orthodox spin
Jaspreet Singh 32Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
Benjamin Manenti 28Right-handedRight-arm off break
Harry Manenti 25Right-handedRight-arm off break
Wicket-keepers
Marcus Campopiano32Right-handed-Wicket-keeper
Gian-Piero Meade 28Right-handedRight-arm mediumWicket-keeper
Spin Bowlers
Crishan Kalugamage25Right-handedRight-arm leg spin
Pace Bowlers
Thomas Draca27Right-handedRight-arm fast
Bilal Muhammad25Right-handedRight-arm medium-fast

Coaching staff

RoleName
Head Coach John Davison
Assistant CoachDougie Brown
Assistant Coach Kevin O’Brien
Team ManagerPeter DiVenuto
PhysiotherapistThihan Chandramohan
Strength & Conditioning CoachMarco Mastrorocco
AnalystMohsin Sheikh

International grounds

Italy provincial location map 2016.svg
Red pog.svg
Jesselton CG
Locations of all stadiums which have hosted an international cricket match within Italy
GroundCityRegionCapacityMatches hostedNotes
Roma Cricket Ground Rome Lazio 1,000T20Is, ICC qualifiersMain venue for Italy’s national team; hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifiers
Jesselton Cricket Ground Jesolo Veneto 800T20IsUsed for ICC Europe development tournaments
Simar Cricket Ground Palermo Sicily 1,200T20IsHosts international matches; part of ICC Europe's southern development region

Records and statistics

International Match Summary — Italy

Last updated 11 July 2025 [30]

Playing Record
FormatMWLTNRInaugural Match
Twenty20 Internationals3624110125 May 2019

Twenty20 International

Most T20I runs for Italy [34]

PlayerRunsAverageCareer span
Marcus Campopiano46333.072022–2025
Grant Stewart 42930.642021–2025
Joy Perera 36728.232019–2022
Anthony Mosca36440.442022–2025
Justin Mosca36424.262022–2025

Most T20I wickets for Italy [35]

PlayerWicketsAverageCareer span
Harry Manenti 3411.642022–2025
Jaspreet Singh 2119.522019–2025
Gareth Berg 2016.452022–2024
Crishan Kalugamage1617.812022–2025
Stefano di Bartolomeo1318.502023–2024

T20I record versus other nations [30]

Records complete to T20I #3303. Last updated 11 July 2025.

OpponentMWLTNRFirst matchFirst win
vs Full Members
Cricket Ireland flag.svg  Ireland 1010020 July 2023
vs Associate Members
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 1100016 July 202216 July 2022
Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 5310118 June 201915 October 2021
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 1100013 July 202213 July 2022
Flag of France.svg  France 1100010 June 202410 June 2024
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 8530025 May 201925 May 2019
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 1100012 July 202212 July 2022
Flag of Guernsey.svg  Guernsey 2200016 June 201916 June 2019
Flag of the Isle of Man.svg  Isle of Man 2200019 July 202219 July 2022
Flag of Jersey.svg  Jersey 4130019 June 201923 July 2023
Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 110009 June 20249 June 2024
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 1010011 July 2025
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 1100015 June 201915 June 2019
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 1100016 June 202416 June 2024
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland 2110024 July 20239 July 2025
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 211005 November 20226 November 2022
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 1100015 July 202215 July 2022
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 1100013 June 202413 June 2024

See also

Notes

  1. From 2023 edition onwards, T20 World Cup Qualifier refers to the Regional Final of the ICC Europe region.

References

  1. "Joe Burns nuovo capitano della Nazionale italiana di cricket T20" [Joe Burns new captain of the Italian national T20 cricket team]. Cricket Italia (in Italian). 3 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  2. "ICC Rankings". International Cricket Council.
  3. "T20I matches - Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  4. "T20I matches - 2025 Team records". ESPNcricinfo.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Italy at CricketArchive
  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. 1996 European Championship Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  10. 1997 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo
  11. 1998 European Championship Archived 9 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  12. 1999 Gibraltar quadrangular at Cricinfo
  13. Scorecard of Gibraltar v Italy, 25 September 1999 at Cricinfo
  14. 2000 European Championship Archived 5 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  15. Italy Withdraws from ICC Trophy, ICC Media Release, 25 June 2001
  16. 2002 European Championship Official site Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine , results section
  17. 2004 European Championship Division Two results Archived 1 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine , European Cricket Council website
  18. Scorecard of Italy v Zambia, 27 February 2005 at CricketArchive
  19. 2006 European Championship Division One Archived 8 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine at CricketEurope
  20. Uganda lift Division Three title Archived 24 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine by Andrew Nixon, 2 June 2007 at CricketEurope
  21. "All T20 matches between ICC members to get international status". International Cricket Council . 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  22. "Italy secure place in European final". Cricket Europe. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  23. "All to play for in last ever World Cricket League tournament". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  24. Roller, Matt (22 February 2023). "Johnson, Madsen, Manenti sign up for Berg's Italian Job" . Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  25. Abraham, Timothy (9 July 2025). "Italy on verge of T20 World Cup after stunning Scotland". BBC Sport . Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  26. Gayler, Maya (10 July 2025). "Italy One Win Away from T20 World Cup Dream After Upset Over Scotland". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  27. Abraham, Timothy (11 July 2025). "Italy qualify for T20 World Cup for first time as Jersey miss out". BBC Sport . Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  28. "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.
  29. "ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier gets underway in Scotland". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  30. 1 2 "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Result summary". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  31. "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Highest totals". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  32. "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / High scores". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  33. "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Best bowling figures". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  34. "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  35. "Records / Italy / Twenty20 Internationals / Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo . Retrieved 25 May 2019.