Italy captain Wayne Madsen.
Credit: Italian Cricket Federation
Mumbai: When it comes to Italy and sports, it’s either football or motorsport that they are synonymous with. Four-time FIFA World Cup winners, the Azzurri, despite their dwindling fortunes, are one of the most followed teams in the world and football runs in the blood of literally every Italian. Ferrari, the most glamorous F1 team, has fans across the world who proudly call themselves Tifosi.
Tennis (thanks to a talented generation led by world No. 2 Jannik Sinner), MotoGP, cycling, swimming and volleyball enjoy a good amount of patronage. Cricket, well almost zero. But here they are at the ICC T20 World Cup, having come through gruelling qualifying rounds to earn a place among the elite for the first time in their history.
In fact, it is one of the fairytale stories of this World Cup as the sport hardly has any existence there. The Italian Cricket Federation kickstarted the pipe dream in 2023 by recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England who were eligible to represent them. Joe Burns, who played 23 Tests for Australia, current skipper Wayne Madsen, and brothers Ben and Harry Manenti joined forces with Irish legend Kevin O’Brien, roped in as a coach, to spark a stunning turnaround that even their cricket board didn’t see coming.
The 42-year-old Madsen, who took the reins from Burns just before the marquee event, is hoping to use the event as a catalyst to spark interest in the game back home.
“Yes, obviously football is the main sport in Italy, and the team hasn’t qualified yet (for the 2026 World Cup). But they do still have a chance. The opportunity for us to play in the World Cup and put cricket on the map in Italy, it hasn't been covered live in the country before. So for us to be able to get cricket on TV is hugely important to grow the game in the country," he said at BCCI headquarters on Thursday.
Italy’s success isn’t without controversy too. Burns, who was the tactical mastermind as captain during the qualifying campaign, was sacked unceremoniously just weeks before the World Cup after a failure to reach an agreement over his contract. When asked if the situation could have been handled better, considering the presence of Burns would have given Italy a significant boost in their maiden participation at a global cricket event, Madsen opted to play it safe.
"I respect both Joe and the people who made the decision. The comment has been made by the federation already. So I am not going to make further comments on his situation,” Madsen said.
Irrespective, Italy will be licking their lips at the prospect of creating more history. Their first two games in Group C are against fellow Associates Scotland and Nepal, followed by matches versus former champions West Indies and England. While the second half appears impossible, a win in the first two doesn’t appear implausible. That could herald a new dawn for cricket there.