Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques has switched his international allegiance to Portugal, the country of his birth, and will now lead them in the T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Finland. Henriques, a long-time domestic cricket stalwart in Australia, is set to take on a new challenge as Portugal look to make their mark in the sport. Cricket’s growing reach has already been highlighted by Italy’s appearance at the last T20 World Cup, and Portugal are now hoping to follow a similar path despite being better known globally for their footballing success. Henriques admitted that his connection with Portuguese cricket is relatively recent, revealing that he did not even know the country had a cricket team until around five years ago.
Henriques is realistic about Portugal’s chances but has set Italy’s recent success as the benchmark for what the team could eventually achieve. Italy qualified for the 2026 T20 World Cup, giving Portugal an example to follow as they look to take their next steps on the international stage. However, Henriques admitted it remains too early to predict whether Portugal can make a similar breakthrough in the upcoming tournament or the next one.
"Obviously, the ideal, the nirvana, would be to replicate what Italy have done," Henriques told the BBC Stumped podcast.
"Whether that's realistic for this World Cup, or the following, I don't know. We'll only be able to tell in a couple games. I'm sure there's a lot of opposition that feel that they might be able to do something similar," he added.
Also Read - Without Jasprit Bumrah, India are already on the back foot against Sri Lanka, make no mistake
Henriques on his childhood in Australia
{{/usCountry}}Also Read - Without Jasprit Bumrah, India are already on the back foot against Sri Lanka, make no mistake
Henriques on his childhood in Australia
{{/usCountry}}Henriques also opened up about his childhood in Australia and the challenges he faced while growing up. Born in Portugal, he moved to Australia as a child and had to adjust to a new environment while also dealing with language difficulties. His name and background often made him stand out among his peers, making those early years difficult. He revealed that cricket eventually became an important outlet for him, helping him gain confidence and feel more comfortable among his classmates.
“Moises isn't the most common name going around in an Australian school, especially at that time. I had a few issues at school early on. I didn't speak English that well. Cricket gave me that little bit of confidence I probably needed as a kid to feel a part of something," Henriques explained.