Follow UsHistory has been scripted, as Italy have qualified for their first-ever World Cup appearance despite losing against the Netherlands, on July 11 (Friday). On the other hand, it is a big heartbreak for Jersey, who, despite having the same number of points, miss out on the net run-rate.
The equation was quite simple for Italy; they needed to avoid a heavy defeat in their last T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier clash against the Netherlands. It was such that they had to defend 134 in 15 overs to avoid elimination.
However, the Netherlands certainly gave them a big scare, with Michael Levitt and Max O’Dowd putting on a 71-run partnership in just 7.2 overs. That’s when Levitt holed out to Anthony Mosca in the deep.
From thereon, the duo of O’Dowd and Scott Edwards didn’t press their foot on the accelerator, as Italy qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
On the back of the Manenti brothers - Harry (23 off 23) and Ben (30 off 27) - Italy got themselves to 134/7, a score that was eventually enough to narrowly go past Jersey in terms of net run-rate.