Follow UsWhat’s Italy best-known for? Pizzas, pastas, gelato and football.
But now, somewhere in Bel Paese, there’s a new revolution: Cricket.
It has given the locals another thing to cheer about after their football team suffered a massive decline, failing to qualify for three consecutive World Cups. Until a few years ago, Italy qualifying for the T20 World Cup wasn’t realistic.
However, over the last three years, that has changed, as Italy have transformed the brand of cricket, with the inclusion of Joe Burns, Grant Stewart, Thomas Draca and others before the European Qualifiers for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Italy were pitted against Scotland, the Netherlands, besides Jersey and Guernsey in the recently concluded European Qualifiers. With just two teams set to make it through, Scotland and the Dutch were the hot favourites.
However, when Italy beat Scotland, they knew they had one foot in the global event, and then against the Netherlands, they did just enough to create history.
Such a rise didn’t happen overnight, or by mistake, as the Azzuris have been working for this day for the past three years.
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"The last three years, you know, the [Italian Cricket] Federation looked at being able to introduce Italian citizens from outside of Italy back into the team, as they did previously. And, you know, effectively, they've, you know, created the opportunity as a result," Italy assistant coach Peter di Venuto told Cricket.com
However, it was not hunky-dory as it seems. While the world sees Italy as the new kid on the block, it has taken plenty of setbacks and efforts from various stakeholders to put them in such a position.
One of the biggest setbacks was in 2001, possibly the one that led to the cricketing revolution in the country in the first place, when they had to pull out of the ICC Trophy. The reason? Cricket’s governing council, ICC, found four Italian players, including di Venuto, ineligible. The other three cricketers in this unfortunate list include Joe Scuderi (Australia), Benito Giordano (UK) and Andy Corbellari (South Africa).
"In 2001, it was the World Cup Qualifiers from which Italy was withdrawn. And it was withdrawn from the World Cup qualifiers because the ICC and its chairman, Sunil Gavaskar, ruled four of us ineligible. So the whole team was pulled out of the event," di Venuto, who played for Italy in the early 2000s, said.
"The ICC at the time said, ‘While we appreciate that those four players are Italian citizens under Italian law, we don't think they are, so we're not allowing them to play’. Now, if that were the case, then you wouldn't have Joe Burns and Ben Menenti and Harry Menenti, the Moscas, Grant Stewart, Emilio Gay, all Italian citizens who are playing cricket elsewhere, and have potentially in some cases grown up elsewhere; they would also not be able to play."
While that was a setback for Italy, it forced the ICC to have a good, hard look at their laws and tweak them. In a way, the ICC realised they were in the wrong, and amended that any citizen of Italy or any country can play for the team regardless of whether they spent 100 days in the country or not.
However, there is still a three-year cooling-off period when players play for an associate country, coming from a Test-playing nation.
"So at the time, it was a sacrifice for the Federation to pull out of the tournament. It received several sanctions from the ICC for doing so. But I remember at the time the president, Simone Gambini, saying that we may have lost the battle, but we'll win the war," di Venuto continued.
"And of course, that has over time proved correct. Those players now are eligible to represent Italy in the Olympics because they are Italian citizens."
The success Italy have tasted could certainly not be without the coaches, who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes. If it was Gareth Berg, who has played and coached Italy for the last 14-15 years, setting the platform for Italian Cricket, the likes of John Davison, Kevin O'Brien, and Dougie Brown have built upon it and have taken the legacy forward.
"John Davison as coach. Dougie Brown as assistant coach. Kevin O'Brien as assistant coach - We are talking about three people who have been to a World Cup from associate teams. John with Canada, Dougie with Scotland and Kevin with Ireland. It was fantastic to have a group of coaches with that associate background," Di Venuto said.
"And the experiences of them being able to go to a World Cup. It gave great clarity in terms of understanding the challenges with associate cricket. And the challenges that you have are not only putting together the group."
Ahead of the Qualifiers, the Italian team was in the UK to prepare for the tournament. It was there that the coaches bonded with the players, who spoke about what it means to them to play for Italy.
"At our camp in the UK, when we first gathered as a squad, everyone talked about their journey and what Italian cricket meant to them in regards to their family, their heritage, their family back in Italy," di Venuto, who doubled down as the team manager, said.
"So all the players that are from overseas who are Italian citizens have family in Italy. So they still have a connection to Italy. It's not that they just come into the team with no connection.
"So the expats, such as the boys from India and Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are all told of their journey. Their family's journey when they first went to Italy. How they made it eventually into cricket.
"The journey that they've had in cricket in Italy. What it means to them and what it means to their family. Those boys spoke in Italian.
"We all had this unbelievably uniting link. That was our family and our heritage. To run out in the field together and see who we represented became the most important thing for us as a group. It was the thing that united us. The coaches heard all the stories and heard the journey."
Peter's little brother Michael has been fortunate enough to play for Australia. After his career in Australia was over, he turned up for Italy in 2012 for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers. Italy got off to a perfect start against Oman, with Michael top-scoring with an unbeaten 42 to help his side to a nine-wicket victory. They just won two more games after that and finished the tournament in 10th place.
Michael, now Australia’s batting coach, left the team a congratulatory message following their win over Scotland, after they were on the brink of making the World Cup. He agreed to do so at he request of Davison, with whom he had spent a lot of time at the Australian Cricket Academy many years ago.
"Mike's [Michael di Venuto] Stoked. After the Scotland win, based upon what we've just talked about, the players had videos that we'd put together of their family, which they weren't aware of," Peter said.
"There was a video that was then shown of Michael, congratulating the boys on their performance so far, just saying what a great tournament that we'd had, and how excited he was."
Like Peter and Michael, even the New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori, who has a deep-rooted connection to Italy, has also expressed his desire to work for the Italy national team.
"I know that he [Michael] and Dan Vettori, who's obviously part of the Australian set-up. Those two have spoken in the future, how at some particular point in time, down the track, they'd love to have involvement with Italian cricket."
Italy have already ticked off their box to make it to the T20 World Cup, and in doing so, have put the wheels in motion for the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. They are just three steps away from playing the mega event in Africa, having already made it through from the Qualifier Playoffs.
Having already done that in the shortest format, Italy know how to get to the ODI World Cup. But for that to become a regular habit, they need much more than just willpower; they need a proper vision.
"We need turf facilities in Italy. That would be a number one priority. We also need indoor training facilities to enable players to improve their skills all year round," di Venuto said.
"Particularly up North. Down South, you can play almost the whole 12 months. In Rome, maybe 8-9 months.
"But up North, you need to have an indoor facility to help support the training and development of players. Cricket is played more up North than it is down South. So, from Rome up is where the majority of clubs exist."
Just improving cricket won’t help, as Peter also points out that ‘qualified umpires’ can improve the cricketing standards in the country, and help them uphold the laws. "We need more skilled umpires within the local competition, and people training through. So there's been a huge growth in the last four years," the 55-year-old said.
"There's been a focus of the Federation. With that comes additional challenges, having officials to actually officiate the games. When teams have increased by four or five times, you need to be able to... There are 108 clubs in Italy now.
"So you need to be in a position to have umpires to service the games. Growth has been incredibly fast, but as a result, there are not enough facilities to support that growth. So that's where the opportunity exists for anyone to become involved in Italian cricket."
Back in 1930, Italy weren’t even part of the footballing mega event. But a century later, they are one of the most successful sides, with four World Cup titles. Italian cricket must now draw some inspiration and write the success story in their style.
They are now in the top cricketing ecosystem, and they can’t ask for a better opportunity to keep climbing the ladder to greater success. In doing so, they are providing a glimmer of hope to an entire nation, who perhaps don’t understand its magnitude, just yet.
(All images courtesy Peter di Venuto & ICC)