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'No professional contracts' but a dream to rub shoulders with India and Australia: Italy's T20 World Cup story
The time has truly come for Italy cricket. The Azzurri have already sealed qualification for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka.
The time has truly come for Italy cricket. The Azzurri have already sealed qualification for the T20 World Cup, which will be played in India and Sri Lanka next year. The European nation is already the story of the tournament even before it begins in February-March 2026. The team is made up of expats from several countries, and it is no surprise that the captain, Joe Burns, comes from Australia. However, it is the story of Harry Manenti that summarises the tale of cricket in Italy.
Manenti, who was the player of the tournament in the European qualifiers, comes from Australia. His brother, Benjamin Manenti, has also been a regular in Australia's first-class cricket structure. Manenti's parents are of Italian origin, and his father used to play professional rugby for Benetton in Brescia. Harry's family moved out of Italy at the end of World War II. His grandmother migrated to Australia when she was just seven years old.
"My father's mother, my grandmother, moved to Australia when she was about seven years old. My grandfather's family was born in Queensland, Australia, but his family moved over just before he was born. Around the Second World War, when they were trying to find some safety, they moved to Australia to get a new start," he tells Hindustan Times.
"My father was born and raised in Australia, but he played professional rugby for Benetton in Italy for a few years before returning to Australia. There's that connection there, and that's sort of how it started, through him playing professional rugby over there. We have seen that pathway and tried to connect through our roots of Italian heritage and give back," he adds.
For years, it seemed like Manenti would never get a chance to play in a tournament like the Cricket World Cup. But it all changed four years ago, and there has been no looking back since.
"It's been a few years of hard work and sacrifice. We've probably had a core group for about four years now, where we've been on maybe two tournaments a year and struggled to spend a lot of time together. Lack of funding and lack of tournaments. But, in the last 12 months, we've had a few more ODI tournaments. Obviously, a qualifying tournament last year in Rome that's brought us to the Netherlands," Harry says.
Also Read: Italy qualify for men's T20 World Cup for the first time in history
"Then, just a buy-in from everyone in the group to want to give back to Italy cricket and try and create a legacy that's going to stand amongst some of the all-time Italian sports moments," he adds.
It must be stated that cricket goes a long way back in Italy. It was first played in the country in the late 1890s. Football might have gained a lot more prominence in Italy, but there was a time when the sport was challenged by cricket in terms of popularity. The Serie A football club AC Milan was initially started as a cricket club.
Now, since a little bit of history is out of the way, let's get back to the story of Manentis. He received a phone call from the Italian Federation four years ago, as he was requested to play for the country and change the fortunes around. And boy, oh boy, did he do so.
"About three or four years ago, we got contacted by the federation. They saw the name Benetti spreading through cricket in Australia, and they looked into it and found out that we're of Italian heritage through my father's side. So, they got in contact with my older brother, Ben, who at the time was playing Big Bash 4 the Sydney Sixers. So, they saw that and contacted him. He passed on my contact as well," Harry says.
"From there, we started talking with Italy and trying to organise a tournament. It would have happened a little sooner, but during COVID, it was obviously tricky to travel, and there weren't many tournaments at the time. So, it was delayed a little bit, and then I went on my first tournament maybe three years ago. I've done pretty much one or two tournaments a season for the last few years. I'm hoping to continue to get more and more opportunities to play with the Italians in the next few years due to the World Cup qualification. We're tracking quite nicely in the ODI format as well," he added.
'Aim is to get ODI status'
Italy might have qualified for the T20 World Cup, but the dreams just don't stop there. Manenti says that the next step would be to achieve ODI status. He also elaborates on the struggles that the players have gone through, revealing that most of the members of the Italian squad are not on professional contracts and are sacrificing their jobs.
"Obviously, that's an aim for us to try and get to ODI status and then World Cup qualification there as well. There have been ups and downs. There have been some tricky times. Our last qualifier in Scotland two years ago was a tough one for us. We lost to Ireland by about seven runs, and we were really close to qualifying then. We had a strong group then, but this time we knew what we had to do. We had a few new inclusions, including Joe Burns and Emilio Gay. We just knew what we had to do and what standard we had to be at," he says.
"There's been some tough times and some hard work put in and some sacrifice by a lot of the players. We're not on a professional deal with the Italian cricket. It's a big sacrifice for a lot of the boys who have full-time jobs outside of the Italy cricket commitments. To be able to qualify is an amazing thing. The cricket we've been playing over the last 12 to 18 months, it's no surprise that we've gotten this stage," he adds.
When one talks about Italy cricket, one has to mention Peter Di Venuto. He can be credited with all the success Italy has achieved so far. His brother, Michael, played nine ODIs for Australia before moving to Italy in 2012.
Peter, who played club cricket in Tasmania, has been exceptional in scouting talent for Italy in Australia. He has done the hard yards and is constantly looking for players who can turn up for Italy and give them glory.
"Peter was our coach in club cricket in Tasmania. He's been a big part of us being part of the Italian cricket. He played a few years back and was a part of it, and then, through distance, struggled to stay connected, and now he's reconnected in the last four years with us. He's been really pushing the growth of the game in Italy. He's been a really big advocate for creating high standards of training and a real professional attitude to create Italy. You can see the massive change only in a few years to the way we go about playing and training and preparing," the 24-year-old Manenti says.
"That goes down to him, Gareth Berg, prior to him with coaching and captaining, and now Joe Burns and John Davison. There's been a really strong leadership group over the last few years that has moulded Cricket Italy into the way we are now. What we're trying to do is build a structure, win games and build success that's going to feed back into the game in Italy. Hopefully, continue to provide children and players in Italy with opportunities to play cricket globally, but also develop the game at a domestic level in Italy. Peter's been massive on high standards and professional attitudes at the national team level. He's a bit of a mentor for us, so I can't speak highly enough of him," he added.
The current Italian cricket squad is mainly made up of expats, but Manenti is hopeful that locals will take to the sport like fish to water in the coming days. He says South Asians are also rising in number in Italy, so the future of the sport in the country is secured.
"I can see it growing. I think it's obviously a global sport for a reason. The shorter format game is probably where we're going to get the most growth out of Italy in cricket. I can see people enjoying the game. I've spoken to many people in and around the cricket federation in Italy who have done work in schools. There are really positive things coming out of the school programmes and trying to encourage Italian boys and girls to play and learn the game," he says.
"Obviously, it's a massive football country that lives and breathes it, so it's going to be a little bit tricky to try and change their views and get them away from the soccer ball. But you also can't deny the influence of South Asian and the subcontinental influence in Italy now. There are a lot of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan people who are living in Italy that we see as Italians. They've moved to Italy to seek a better life, to have opportunities, to work. They haven't necessarily moved there to play cricket, but they've gone and joined clubs and found friends and built communities in and around their area. Through that, they're playing cricket and loving it. Our job is to hopefully succeed at the top level. Hopefully, that inspires a few in Italy to want to play the game and go to the World Cup," he adds.
Since the T20 World Cup qualification is sealed, Manenti is really looking forward to rubbing shoulders with India and Australia once the tournament begins early next year. He is dreaming about squaring off against India in front of a jam-packed crowd.
"To play against India in India would be a bit of a dream. Hopefully, a full crowd and a really good atmosphere and vibe around the town and the city. We'd love to obviously play one of the big countries. Australia, obviously, given that I grew up in Australia, there are a few of us who would love to play against them. There are a couple of boys who will hopefully be around there that we know, or I know personally, Spencer Johnson and Mitchell Owen, who are currently in and around Australia," he says.
"I'd love to play against them in a World Cup, given I played in their club teams back in Australia. India would be a massive one, just because I think the build-up to that would be pretty special. Pakistan would be a good one as well. We're not too fussed with who we play. Any game in the World Cup is going to be special. Obviously, the big games are why we want to be there. Big crowds, big build-ups. We want to try and really jump into the deep end and experience everything that the World Cup and Indian Cup can offer," he concludes.
