From his position out on the edge of the playing field, Marcus Campopiano bellows support for his teammates.
“Forza ragazzi!” he shouts. Come on, guys! All very standard. Just in Italian. Which, to the ear of followers of mainstream cricket, feels weird.
For the first time, Italy will be playing at one of the sport’s top events when they debut at the T20 World Cup in India this month.
To get there, they navigated two stages of qualifying, playing teams such as Luxembourg, Turkey, Isle of Man and Guernsey along the way.
Their reward for a campaign in which they initially knocked out Scotland – only for them to be invited back in to replace Bangladesh – was a ticket to the big time.
Until now, Italy’s most notable associations with cricket have been tenuous links to global stars. Oscar Piastri, the Formula One star who is an Australian of Italian heritage, loves the sport. Former football star Christian Vieri’s first sporting hero was Allan Border, the ex-Australia cricket captain.
Now those wearing the blue of the Italian national cricket team want to see if they can get a little share of the sporting limelight, too.
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The Italian team prepares in Dubai for its maiden appearance at the T20 World Cup. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National -
Italy's JJ Smuts during a match against Ireland at The Sevens in Dubai -
Italy are preparing for the T20 World Cup in India -
Italy's Grant Stewart celebrates the wicket of Ireland's Gareth Delany in Dubai -
A number of Italy's players are from families who migrated from Italy to Australia in the past, along with players from the subcontinent -
Italy are looking to make a mark in their maiden T20 World Cup appearance -
Italy have a thriving cricket community in the country -
Italy's Thomas Draca bowls against Ireland
“For us, [the target is] to win games,” Wayne Madsen, the Italy captain, said. “We're not going there to just make up numbers. That's realistic for us. We've got guys who've played in big tournaments before, and we've got a few X-factor players who people haven't seen.
“Like anyone, you set out wanting to win. Realistically, if we can create some upsets through the competition, which I know as a group we can, that'll be a real bonus for Italian cricket. It's going to drive our legacy and the game in Italy.”
Italy have reached this point thanks in part to judicious use of the sport’s eligibility rules. The squad is the embodiment of the effects of migration, both to and from the country they are representing.
A number of the players are from families who migrated from Italy to Australia in the past, and are honouring their roots by representing the Azzurri.
Ben Manenti, for example, missed the first part of Italy’s pre-World Cup training camp in Dubai as he was playing for Sydney Sixers in the finals of the BBL in Australia. He is Australia-born, from a family of Italian origin. His brother, Harry, is also in the squad.
Peter Di Venuto is the manager of the Italy team at a World Cup in which his brother, Michael, will be part of Australia’s coaching staff. He first played for the Italian national team 30 years ago, when he was playing club cricket in Australia.
There are few more cosmopolitan setups in all of world sport than theirs. Campopiano was born in London. Madsen, the captain, originates from South Africa. There are Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani-origin players, too.
Their coach, John Davison, is an Australian who played for Canada. One of his assistants, Dougie Brown, played internationally for Scotland, England, and then Scotland again, coached Namibia at a World Cup, and now lives in Dubai.
Then there is Kevin O’Brien, a dyed in the wool Irishman whose social media output these days might as well all be in Italian, such is his commitment to the cause as another of their coaches.
All of which means it is not too much of a surprise that their lead administrator is originally from Ecuador, although that is pushing the migration theme to its extreme.
Maria Lorena Haz Paz, the president of Federazione Cricket Italiana, first came into contact with the sport 21 years ago, via her Sri Lankan partner.
The game itself made little sense to her, but she was swept along by his passion for it, and started to help his club with its administration.
In time she became enveloped in the running of the game nationally, helped forward women’s cricket particularly, and became the president in February 2025.
“You get these emotions every match you watch your team play,” she said. “The rules are very complicated for people who know nothing about sport, but I like the discipline, and the respect for the umpires and opponents.”
Qualification for the World Cup was the realisation of an ambition that often seemed impossible, she said.
“It's very emotional because I think for every Italian cricketer, this was the dream,” she said. “After 45 years, we had finally reached our target for the first time. This is the first time we'll be playing in front of thousands of spectators so it's a challenge. We are excited and looking forward to it.”
She is aware that they only have one chance to make a first impression. “We have one opportunity, because it's the first time and the first time is the most important,” she said. “But we don't want it to stop here. We want to qualify again and again and again, and make it a habit. This is our chance to show ourselves to the world, and also to Italian society.
“Till now Italian society is not actually directly involved in the game, but we are working for it and it's changing. So, it's a big moment, even for inside our country, not only for outside.”
In the country itself, the sport survives not so much on gathering crumbs from under the rich man’s table as on the collective endeavour of a few.
There are 4,300 registered players, although the federation estimate around 20,000 play the game informally. They are trying to attract both private and public investment, the latter via government funding thanks to cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics.
That would help build an infrastructure that remains rudimentary, despite the sport’s long history in the country. There are three grounds in Rome, two in Brescia, plus ones in Bergamo and Milan, but they are multiuse fields without clubhouses, rather than recognisable cricket grounds.
Clearly, it will never rival football for the affection of the general public, even if millions of Italians do already congregate at sports clubs that were initially set up as cricket clubs, on a weekly basis.
AC Milan, for example, were founded as the Milan Football and Cricket Club by English expatriates at the end of the 19th century. Genoa, the country’s oldest football club, was also set up primarily as a cricket club, and was initially only open to British expatriates working in the port city. Cricket gradually faded away from both, though, due to the popularity of – and ease of entry to – football.
While football's dominance is all-pervading, the federation insist that does not mean cricket cannot grow. They do not aim to compete with football, but are promoting themselves as a community-based sport with international opportunities. They have found some traction, especially among younger players and multicultural communities.
Zain Ali is from one such community. The seam bowler fits cricket around his job as a mechanical engineer. He brought his love of the game with him when his family upped sticks from their home near Islamabad when he was 15.
“My dad used to be a doctor in Pakistan, but the situation was not good, so he decided to move the family, and it was a good decision that he made for us,” Zain said. “[But] the first few years were too hard for me because we didn't know the language, the culture. I used to ask him, ‘Why did you come here?’, questions of this kind. But at the end, it's destiny.”
Cricket was a little slice of home which he thought was gone from his life. He tried basketball, and found he excelled, but still craved cricket. When the family then relocated again within Italy, a new friend invited him to play cricket. “It's a game that is in my blood,” Zain said.
“I tried basketball, I was good at that, but I always felt that I want to play cricket. It was a really good opportunity for me that I started again, playing cricket in Italy and I felt really excited about it. It was a dream for me when I started playing hardball in Italy, and to play for the national side of Italy.”
The idea of playing in a World Cup with his adopted country seemed fanciful, but “not impossible”, he said.
It became a reality when they advanced to the tournament in India on net run-rate after tying on points with Jersey on a tense day at the qualifying tournament in the Netherlands last July.
“No words can explain those moments,” Zain said. “It was surprising for me, for everybody; it was surprising to the whole world. It's something that will remain inside me for my whole life. It's a really good opportunity that I'm wearing this shirt here at this stage. It's a privilege.”
