Italy chase first World Cup moments on the big stage

vs Scotland in Kolkata, February 9
vs Nepal in Mumbai, February 12
vs England in Kolkata, February 16
vs West Indies in Kolkata, February 19

Italy and cricket may sound like an unfamiliar pairing, but the two share a long history. In the late 18th century, Admiral Nelson's crew organised cricket games in Naples, while big football clubs such as AC Milan - originally named Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club - helped promote the sport. Fast forward to today, and Italy are competing at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, a remarkable achievement for a team with little established cricketing pedigree.

The journey to the global event began in 2023, when the Italian Cricket Federation (ICF) pursued a strategy of recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England who were eligible to represent Italy. The Azzurri, as they are informally known, selected players with international and domestic experience - Joe Burns, Wayne Madsen, and brothers Ben and Harry Manenti among others - to build a competitive unit. This motley crew of part-timers and expats now have a chance to shine on the world stage.

Coached by John Davison of Canada and Kevin O'Brien of Ireland, Italy boast an off-field leadership group well acquainted with remarkable World Cup achievements. They arrive at this tournament hoping to etch a few memorable moments of their own. With a squad of self-motivated, talented individuals, Italy will fancy their chances of picking up at least a couple of wins.

The schedule offers them an opportunity to put their best foot forward early. Their first two matches are against fellow Associate sides Scotland and Nepal, games they will hope to use to build momentum. Against England and West Indies later in the group, Italy will look to show that their qualification was no fluke. Off-field issues in the build-up - including former captain Burns being dropped from the squad - have dampened some of the buzz around their campaign, but this remains Italy's biggest opportunity on the world stage, and one they will not want to waste.

In Italy's run to the World Cup, they beat Scotland - who they meet on February 9 again - and Guernsey at the Europe Regionals. Last month, they also played a three-T20I series against Full Members Ireland in the UAE, where they lost two tight games before bouncing back and winning the third comprehensively.

Former South Africa international JJ Smuts was not part of Italy's qualification journey, but his late addition to the World Cup squad has bolstered their batting. The aggressive batter is expected to fill the gap left by Burns. He once reached the Under-19 World Cup final with South Africa in 2007-08, was South Africa's leading run-scorer in their domestic T20 tournament in 2016-17 and also has extensive franchise experience. His three outings for Italy so far have been lukewarm but his experience will count at the big stage.

The Manenti brothers - Ben and Harry - were among the earliest recruits for the Italian Job, and they come into the World Cup on the back of regular outings in the Big Bash League with Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers respectively, sharing dressing rooms and playing XIs alongside some modern greats. Ben is a right-arm offspinner with some batting to show, while Harry is a seam-bowling allrounder.

With T20 World Cups scheduled every two years, it is difficult to rule anyone out if Italy continue to climb the ranks in European cricket. That said, this tournament could be a final spell in the international spotlight for new captain Wayne Madsen, who turned 42 last month. Italy will look to him to hold the unit together - a role he has performed successfully as Derbyshire's long-time captain in county cricket.

1 Justin Mosca, 2 Anthony Mosca, 3 JJ Smuts, 4 Wayne Madsen (capt), 5 Harry Manenti, 6 Ben Manenti, 7 Grant Stewart, 8 Marcus Campopiano, 9 Gian-Piero Meade (wk) 10 Thomas Draca, 11 Jaspreet Singh

Rest of the squad: Syed Naqvi, Zain Ali, Crishan Kalugamage, Ali Hasan