 | ||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Gli Azzurri (lit. 'TheBlues') | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Italian Cricket Federation | |||||||||
| Personnel | ||||||||||
| Captain | Harry Manenti[1] (T20I) Marcus Campopiano (List A) | |||||||||
| Coach | John Davison | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| Twenty20 debut | v Oman atDubai; 13 March 2012 | |||||||||
| International Cricket Council | ||||||||||
| ICC status | Affiliate (1984) Associate member (1995) | |||||||||
| ICC region | Europe | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| International cricket | ||||||||||
| First international | v Denmark atBagsværd; 15 July 1989 | |||||||||
| One Day Internationals | ||||||||||
| World Cup Qualifier appearances | 2 (first in1997) | |||||||||
| Best result | First round (1997, 2001) | |||||||||
| T20 Internationals | ||||||||||
| First T20I | v Germany atSportpark Maarschalkerweerd,Utrecht; 25 May 2019 | |||||||||
| Last T20I | v Nepal atWankhede Stadium,Mumbai; 12 February 2026 | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| T20 World Cup appearances | 1 (first in2026) | |||||||||
| Best result | TBD | |||||||||
| T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances | 4[a] (first in2012) | |||||||||
| Best result | 2nd place (2025) | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| As of 12 February 2026 | ||||||||||
TheItaly men's national cricket team is the team that representsItaly in men'sinternational cricket. They have been anassociate member of theInternational Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The Italy national cricket team is administered by theItalian Cricket Federation.
The earliest mention of cricket in Italy is of a match played byAdmiral Nelson's sailors in 1793 during a stop inNaples harbour.[5] Around the end of the 19th century, several combined cricket and association football clubs formed, including the world-famousA.C. Milan, which was originally theMilan Cricket and Football Club and the first Italian football teamGenoa Cricket and Football Club, which was originally theGenoa Cricket & Athletic Club. But these clubs soon forgot about cricket and concentrated on football. Cricket started to be revived after theSecond 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 LankanFrancis Alphonsus Jayarajah, the Italian-IndianMassimo 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.
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.[9]
After years of matches against neighboring nations such as France and Germany, in 1996, Italy took part in the first European Championship inDenmark, finishing seventh after beatingIsrael in a play-off.[10] They took part in theICC Trophy for the first time in the1997 tournament and performed poorly, finishing joint last out of the 22 participants.[11] 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.[12]
In 1999, Italy took part in a quadrangular tournament inGibraltar also featuringFrance and Israel.[13] They won the tournament, beatingthe hosts in the final.[14] They finished fifth in Division One of the European Championship the following year[15] and were due to participate in the2001 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 resident 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.[16]
The 2002 European Championship saw Italy finish sixth in Division One,[17] relegating them for 2004 to Division Two, which they promptly won.[18] This qualified them for therepêchage tournament for the2005 ICC Trophy in early 2005 inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They finished seventh in that tournament after beatingZambia in a play-off.[19]
They took part in Division One of the European Championship in 2006, finishing fifth.[20]
In May–June 2007, they travelled toDarwin, Australia, to take part inDivision Three of theWorld Cricket League. They finished seventh after beatingFiji in a play-off, and played inDivision Four of the World Cricket League in 2008 to come third and remained in2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four.[21] With a second-place finish there, they were promoted to2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, where they came 4th to remain in2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. They had a chance of reaching the2015 Cricket World Cup, if they finished in the top two in the2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, and then in the top two of the2013 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. An encouraging start to this tournament witnessed wins overOman (9 wickets) andUnited States (8 runs), followed by defeats, narrowly toIreland (2 wickets) and more comprehensively againstKenya (7 wickets). After finishing last in this tournament they were relegated to Division Four in 2014.
In November 2013 they competed in the2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in theUAE, their highest level of competition to date. They finished 9th place with victories over the US, and higher-ranked opponents in UAE and Namibia.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant fullTwenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, allTwenty20 matches played between Italy and otherICC members since 1 January 2019 have the T20I status.[22]
In September 2018, Italy qualified from Group B of the2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier to the Regional Finals of the tournament.[23]
Italy played their first T20I againstGermany in May 2019.
v | ||
Italy won by 7 wickets Sportpark Maarschalkerweerd,Utrecht Umpires:Rizwan Akram (Ned) andHuub Jansen (Ned) |
On July 11, 2025, following a stunning 12-run upset overScotland at theEuropean Regional Final,[24][25]
v | ||
Italy won by 12 runs Sportpark Westvliet,Voorburg Umpires:Roland Black (Ire) andRussell Warren (Eng) Player of the match:Harry Manenti (Ita) |
Italy sealed a spot at the2026 Men's T20 World Cup after finishing at second-place beatingJersey onnet run rate.[26][27]
TheIrish cricket team toured UAE in January 2026 for a three match T20I series against Italy.[28][29] In the 3rd T20I, Italy shocked Ireland in what would be their first win against afull member side in men's T20I cricket.[30]
v | ||
v | ||
Anthony Mosca 62* (32) |
Italy won 10 wickets Wankhede Stadium,Mumbai Umpires:Donovan Koch (Aus) andSam Nogajski (Aus) Player of the match:Crishan Kalugamage (Ita) |
Italy has historically featured a large number of dual nationals in its squads at ICC tournaments, particularly Australian, English and South African players of Italian descent, who have never resided in Italy and do not play in Italian domestic cricket.[33] The team withdrew from the2001 ICC Trophy after the ICC ruled that citizenship by descent would not be sufficient for player eligibility, thereby disqualifying four members of the Italian squad including former Australian domestic playerJoe Scuderi.[34][35]
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 the2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including South AfricanWayne Madsen and AustraliansBen Manenti,Harry Manenti andSpencer Johnson. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, had only tenuous direct connections with Italy.[36]
Italy's squad for its inaugural appearance at the2026 Men's T20 World Cup included no Italian-born players. Only five out of the fifteen players named in the World Cup squad were Italian residents, all of whom had immigrated from South Asian countries as teenagers or young adults.[33][37]JJ Smuts, a South African franchise player, was named in Italy's squad after acquiringItalian citizenship via his wife, whose great-grandfather was born in Italy.[38]
– Promoted
– Remained in the same division
– Relegated| Men's T20 World Cup records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year/Host | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2007 | Did not qualify | |||||||
 2009 | ||||||||
 2010 | ||||||||
 2012 | ||||||||
 2014 | ||||||||
 2016 | ||||||||
 2021 | ||||||||
 2022 | ||||||||
 2024 | ||||||||
| 2026 | Qualified | |||||||
| Total | 1/10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2008 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2012 | Play-offs(DNQ) | 10/16 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Play-offs(DNQ) | 9/16 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
 2015 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2019 | ||||||||
| 2022 | ||||||||
| Total | 2/7 | 0 Titles | 18 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 1 | |
| ICC T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2019 | Round-robin | 3/6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
 2021 | Round-robin | 3/4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | Round-robin | 3/7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
 2025 | Round-robin(Q) | 2/5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 4/4 | 0 Titles | 21 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 2 | |
| ICC Twenty20 Europe Sub-regional Qualifiers records | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR |
| 2018–19 | Round-robin(A) | 1/6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 2022–23 | Round-robin(A) | 1/5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 2024 | Round-robin(A) | 1/5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3/3 | 3 Titles | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cricket World Cup Qualifier records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 1979 | Not eligible–Not an ICC member[9] | |||||||
| 1982 | ||||||||
| 1986 | ||||||||
| 1990 | Not eligible–ICC affiliate member[9] | |||||||
 1994 | ||||||||
 1997 | Group stage | 21/21 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
 2001 | Qualified, but withdrew | |||||||
| 2005 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | 1/8 | 0 Titles | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| European Cricket Championship records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 1996 | Round-robin | 7/8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | Round-robin | 5/10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | Round-robin | 5/6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2002 | Round-robin | 6/6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
 2004 | Did not participate | |||||||
| 2006 | Round-robin | 5/5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | Round-robin | 5/6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2010 | Round-robin | 6/6 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 7/8 | 0 Titles | 31 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 1 | |
| European T20 Championship Division One records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2011 | Round-robin | Runners-up | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | Round-robin | Champions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | Round-robin | 3/6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 3/3 | 1 Title | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cricket World Cup Challenge League records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2019–22 | Round-robin () | 9/12 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | |
 2024–26 | In Progress | 10 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Total | 2/2 | 0 Title | 25 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 3 | |
| Cricket World Cup Challenge League Play-off records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2024 | Super 6s () | 2/8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1/1 | 0 Title | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| ICC World Cricket League Division Three records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2007 | Group stage () | 7/8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
 2009 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2011 | Group stage () | 4/6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
 2013 | Group stage () | 6/6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2017 | ||||||||
| 2018 | ||||||||
| Total | 3/7 | 0 Title | 18 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| ICC World Cricket League Division Four records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
 2008 | Round-robin () | 4/6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2010 | Round-robin () | 2/6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | Did not participate (part of division three) | |||||||
 2014 | Round-robin () | 4/6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016 | Round-robin () | 6/6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | 4/6 | 0 Title | 23 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| ICC World Cricket League Division Five records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host/Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | T | NR | |
| 2008 | Did not participate | |||||||
| 2010 | ||||||||
| 2012 | ||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||
| 2016 | ||||||||
| 2017 | Semi-finals () | 4/8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 1/6 | 0 Title | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Italy's squad for the2026 ICC T20 World Cup Europe Regional Final in July 2025 included the following players:[39]
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | |||||
| Emilio Gay | 25 | Left-handed | - | ||
| Anthony Mosca | 34 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Justin Mosca | 28 | Left-handed | - | ||
| Zain Naqvi | 30 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ||
| Syed Naqvi | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| Zain Ali | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| All-rounders | |||||
| Wayne Madsen | 42 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain | |
| Grant Stewart | 31 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| JJ Smuts | 37 | Right-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | ||
| Damith Kosala | 35 | Left-handed | Left-arm orthodox spin | ||
| Jaspreet Singh | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | ||
| Benjamin Manenti | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Harry Manenti | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | ||
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| Marcus Campopiano | 32 | Right-handed | - | ||
| Gian-Piero Meade | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | ||
| Spin Bowlers | |||||
| Crishan Kalugamage | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg spin | ||
| Pace Bowlers | |||||
| Thomas Draca | 27 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | ||
| Bilal Muhammad | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | ||
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | John Davison |
| Assistant Coach | Dougie Brown |
| Assistant Coach | Kevin O’Brien |
| Team Manager | Peter DiVenuto |
| Physiotherapist | Thihan Chandramohan |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Marco Mastrorocco |
| Analyst | Mohsin Sheikh |
| Ground | City | Region | Capacity | Matches hosted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roma Cricket Ground | Rome | Lazio | 1,000 | T20Is, ICC qualifiers | Main venue for Italy's national team; hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifiers |
| Jesselton Cricket Ground | Jesolo | Veneto | 800 | T20Is | Used for ICC Europe development tournaments |
| Simar Cricket Ground | Palermo | Sicily | 1,200 | T20Is | Hosts international matches; part of ICC Europe's southern development region |
Last updated 12 February 2026[40]
| Playing Record | ||||||
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty20 Internationals | 41 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 25 May 2019 |
Most T20I runs for Italy[44]
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Mosca | 479 | 39.91 | 2022–2026 |
| Marcus Campopiano | 475 | 31.66 | 2022–2026 |
| Grant Stewart | 473 | 29.56 | 2021–2026 |
| Justin Mosca | 381 | 21.16 | 2022–2026 |
| Joy Perera | 367 | 28.23 | 2019–2022 |
Most T20I wickets for Italy[45]
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Manenti | 34 | 13.29 | 2022–2026 |
| Jaspreet Singh | 23 | 21.21 | 2019–2026 |
| Gareth Berg | 20 | 16.45 | 2022–2024 |
| Crishan Kalugamage | 20 | 18.15 | 2022–2026 |
| Grant Stewart | 17 | 20.11 | 2021–2026 |
T20I record versus other nations[40]
Records complete to T20I #3702. Last updated 12 February 2026.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs Full Members | |||||||
 Ireland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20 July 2023 | 26 January 2026 |
| vs Associate Members | |||||||
 Croatia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 July 2022 | 16 July 2022 |
| Denmark | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 June 2019 | 15 October 2021 |
| Finland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 July 2022 | 13 July 2022 |
 France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 June 2024 | 10 June 2024 |
| Germany | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25 May 2019 | 25 May 2019 |
 Greece | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 July 2022 | 12 July 2022 |
| Guernsey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 June 2019 | 16 June 2019 |
 Isle of Man | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 July 2022 | 19 July 2022 |
| Jersey | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 19 June 2019 | 23 July 2023 |
 Luxembourg | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 June 2024 | 9 June 2024 |
| Nepal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 February 2026 | 12 February 2026 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 July 2025 | |
 Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 June 2019 | 15 June 2019 |
 Romania | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 June 2024 | 16 June 2024 |
| Scotland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 July 2023 | 9 July 2025 |
| Spain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 November 2022 | 6 November 2022 |
 Sweden | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 July 2022 | 15 July 2022 |
 Turkey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 June 2024 | 13 June 2024 |
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