The Italian football team is staring at the prospect of missing out on its third successive FIFA World Cup after its absence from Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, but Italian fans might have a different national team to cheer for next year. The Italian cricket team is closing in on securing their first ever appearance at the Twenty20 World Cup after prevailing over Scotland in the European qualifying tournament on Wednesday. The Italians claimed a 12-run victory in Voorburg over the Scottish team.
“Being on the verge of a World Cup? It’s very surreal. I am really proud of the boys for this moment,” said captain Joe Burns, who played 23 Tests for Australia before switching allegiance to Italy last year. “Hopefully this is the stepping stone for a lot to come. It’s a very emotional group at the moment.”
He added: “To come and beat Scotland, who are a fantastic team, is a nice reward for sacrifices our players, staff and federation have made.
“A lot of the credit has to go to Italy, who outskilled us with the ball in those conditions,” Scotland captain Richie Berrington said. “Obviously today’s a tough one, but it’s important we learn what we can from this game. We will be looking to come back strong. We have to focus on coming back on Friday and looking to win that game then the rest takes care of itself.”
The Italian cricket federation has been members of the International Cricket Council since 1984 and the Italy team is ranked 32nd in the world.
The one team standing in the way of the Italians playing at the Twenty20 World Cup, to be held in India and Sri Lanka next year, are the Netherlands. Thanks to the win over Scotland, Italy are currently perched atop the Europe Regional Final standings. The fate of both Italy and the Netherlands is likely to decided by their game: Italy need to win their final match on Friday. Actually, even a loss might still see them through as they have five points to their tally, two ahead of Scotland, and have a superior net run rate. Italy’s current net run rate is at 1.722, while third-placed Jersey (0.430) and fourth-placed Scotland (-0.150) are well behind.
As Reuters reported, Italy’s superior net run rate means even a narrow loss could send them through if other results go their way. With the top two in the standings to advance, Scotland can still qualify but need a big win against Jersey on Friday and an Italy victory against the Dutch.
(With inputs from Reuters)
