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Italy qualify for 2026 T20 World Cup for the first time
They have won the FIFA World Cup four times but in a historic first, Italy's men's cricket team, led by a former Australian Test opener Joe Burns, has qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
In the five-team ICC T20 Men's Europe Region final, Italy despite losing their last game to Netherlands by nine wickets on Friday, pipped Jersey on account of superior net run rate to make the cut apart from the 'Oranje' brigade. Italy made 135 and the Netherlands surpassed the target by 9 wickets.
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While the Netherlands ended with an all-win record and eight points, both Italy and Jersey were locked on five points each but the 'Azzurris' with a superior Net run rate of +0.612 dashed Jersey's hopes (+0.306).
The driving force for Italy has been former Australia opener Burns, who is eligible to represent Italy by virtue of his mother being Italian. Burns has played 23 Tests for Australia and had four Test hundreds to his credit. The other notable player is former Kent cricketer Grant Stewart, who had played 50 plus game in English county circuit.
It was also surprising to see Emilio Gay, who as recently as last month scored 71 for England Lions against India A in a four-day unofficial Test, represent Italy and played a massive part in their upset win over ICC tourney regulars Scotland. Gay scored 50 in Italy's 12-run victory.
There is also an Indian origin medium pacer Jaspreet Singh in their squad, who has already played 23 T20Is.
While Italy celebrates a cricketing breakthrough, their national football team's future remains uncertain — they failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups and are yet to confirm their place in the 2026 edition in the Americas.
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