The Italy men's national cricket team represents Italy in men's international cricket. They have been an associate member of the International Cricket Council since 1995, having previously been an affiliate member since 1984. The Italy national cricket team is administered by the Italian Cricket Federation.
History
Early history
The earliest mention of cricket in Italy is of a match played by Admiral Nelson's sailors in 1793 during a stop in Naples harbour. Around the end of the 19th century, several combined cricket and association football clubs formed, including the world-famous A.C. Milan, which was originally the Milan Cricket and Football Club and the first Italian football team Genoa Cricket and Football Club, which was originally the Genoa Cricket & Athletic Club. But these clubs soon forgot about cricket and concentrated on football. Cricket started to be revived after the Second World War. Cricket flourished in Rome in the 1960s at a superb field which looked across to St. Peter's dome from Villa Doria Pamphili. The Australian and British embassies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the Commonwealth War Graves Association, the Venerable English College and Beda College fielded teams which competed for the Rome Ashes there until, in the 1970s, the Villa became a public park.
When cricket resumed in Rome on other grounds at the end of the 1970s, four of the Villa Doria Pamphili-era players formed in 1980 the Doria Pamphili Cricket Club: the Italian-Sri Lankan Francis Alphonsus Jayarajah, the Italian-Indian Massimo da Costa, the Australian Desmond O'Grady and the Syrian Issam Kahale.
In the same period, some cricket was played in the northern part of Italy with the Milan Cricket Club being formed in the 1970s and Euratom CC in the 1980s.
Modern history
The "Federazione Cricket Italiana" (Italian Cricket Federation) was formed in 1980, and they became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1984, and were promoted to associate member in 1995.Italy at CricketArchive
After years of matches against neighboring nations such as France and Germany, in 1996, Italy took part in the first European Championship in Denmark, finishing seventh after beating Israel in a play-off.1996 European Championship at CricketEurope They took part in the ICC Trophy for the first time in the 1997 tournament and performed poorly, finishing joint last out of the 22 participants.1997 ICC Trophy at Cricinfo They finished fifth in the following year's European Championship in which they caused the biggest upset to date in the history of the game by beating the England XI in the promotion/relegation playoff.1998 European Championship at CricketEurope
In 1999, Italy took part in a quadrangular tournament in Gibraltar also featuring France and Israel.1999 Gibraltar quadrangular at Cricinfo They won the tournament, beating the hosts in the final.Scorecard of Gibraltar v Italy, 25 September 1999 at Cricinfo They finished fifth in Division One of the European Championship the following year2000 European Championship at CricketEurope and were due to participate in the 2001 ICC Trophy, but pulled out at the last minute due to a dispute over the eligibility of four players, Italian citizens by birth but not resident in Italy. The dispute was happily resolved by ICC a year later with the recognition of citizenship as a criterion for eligibility in national teams.Italy Withdraws from ICC Trophy, ICC Media Release, 25 June 2001
The 2002 European Championship saw Italy finish sixth in Division One,2002 European Championship Official site , results section relegating them for 2004 to Division Two, which they promptly won.2004 European Championship Division Two results , European Cricket Council website This qualified them for the repêchage tournament for the 2005 ICC Trophy in early 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They finished seventh in that tournament after beating Zambia in a play-off.Scorecard of Italy v Zambia, 27 February 2005 at CricketArchive
They took part in Division One of the European Championship in 2006, finishing fifth.2006 European Championship Division One at CricketEurope
In May–June 2007, they travelled to Darwin, Australia, to take part in Division Three of the World Cricket League. They finished seventh after beating Fiji in a play-off, and played in Division Four of the World Cricket League in 2008 to come third and remained in 2010 ICC World Cricket League Division Four.Uganda lift Division Three title by Andrew Nixon, 2 June 2007 at CricketEurope With a second-place finish there, they were promoted to 2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, where they came 4th to remain in 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three. They had a chance of reaching the 2015 Cricket World Cup, if they finished in the top two in the 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three, and then in the top two of the 2013 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. An encouraging start to this tournament witnessed wins over Oman (9 wickets) and United States (8 runs), followed by defeats, narrowly to Ireland (2 wickets) and more comprehensively against Kenya (7 wickets). After finishing last in this tournament they were relegated to Division Four in 2014.
In November 2013 they competed in the 2013 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE, their highest level of competition to date. They finished 9th place with victories over the US, and higher-ranked opponents in UAE and Namibia.
2018–present: T20I status In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Italy and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the T20I status.
In September 2018, Italy qualified from Group B of the 2018–19 ICC World Twenty20 Europe Qualifier to the Regional Finals of the tournament.
Italy played their first T20I against Germany in May 2019.
On July 11, 2025, following a stunning 12-run upset over Scotland at the European Regional Final,
Italy sealed a spot at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup after finishing at second-place beating Jersey on net run rate.
The Irish cricket team toured UAE in January 2026 for a three match T20I series against Italy. In the 3rd T20I, Italy shocked Ireland in what would be their first win against a full member side in men's T20I cricket.
Squad composition and citizenship controversies Italy has historically featured a large number of dual nationals in its squads at ICC tournaments, particularly Australian, English and South African players of Italian descent, who have never resided in Italy and do not play in Italian domestic cricket. The team withdrew from the 2001 ICC Trophy after the ICC ruled that citizenship by descent would not be sufficient for player eligibility, thereby disqualifying four members of the Italian squad including former Australian domestic player Joe Scuderi.
In 2023, it was reported that Italy had pursued a strategy of recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England to play in the regional final of the 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including South African Wayne Madsen and Australians Ben Manenti, Harry Manenti and Spencer Johnson. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, had only tenuous direct connections with Italy.
Italy's squad for its inaugural appearance at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup included no Italian-born players. Only five out of the fifteen players named in the World Cup squad were Italian residents, all of whom had immigrated from South Asian countries as teenagers or young adults. JJ Smuts, a South African franchise player, was named in Italy's squad after acquiring Italian citizenship via his wife, whose great-grandfather was born in Italy.
Tournament records Legend
Promoted Remained in the same division Relegated
Cricket World Cup Cricket World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 1975 Not an ICC member Not an ICC member 1979 1983 1987 Not eligible; ICC affiliate member Not eligible; ICC affiliate member 1992 1996 Did not qualify Did not enter 1999 50401 2003 Withdrew 2007 85300 2011 117400 2015 1871100 2019 123900 2023 155901 2027 To be determined 15*12102 Total 0/13 – – – – – 84 39 41 0 4
Cricket World Cup Qualifier Cricket World Cup Qualifier recordYearRoundPosition 1979Not an ICC member 1982 1986 1990Not eligible; ICC affiliate member 1994 1997Group stage21/2140400DNQ 2001Qualified; withdrew2005—2023Did not qualify Total 0 Titles 1/12 4 0 4 0 0
Men's T20 World Cup
Men's T20 World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition 2007Not eligible Not eligible 2009 2010 2012 Did not qualify 16 8 8 0 0 2014 16 10 5 0 1 2016 5 3 2 0 0 2021 10 8 2 0 0 2022 6 3 3 0 0 2024 11 8 2 0 1 2026 Group stage 14/20 4 1 3 0 0 9 7 1 0 1 2028To be determined To be determinedTotal0 Titles 1/10 4 1 3 0 0 73 47 23 0 3
T20 World Cup Qualifier Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier recordYearRoundPosition 2008Not eligible 2010 2012Play-offs10/1693600DNQ 2013Play-offs9/1693501DNQDid not qualify 2019 2022 2028Qualified Total 0 Titles 3/8 18 6 11 0 1
Other global tournaments CWC Challenge League (List A) CWC Challenge League Play-off (List A) World Cricket League (LA/ODI/50 overs) 2019–22 (B): 5th place () 2024–26 (B): Champions (Q) 2024: Runners-up (Q)2007 (Division Three) : 7th place () 2008 (Division Four) : 4th place () 2010 (Division Four) : Runners-up () 2011 (Division Three) : 4th place () 2013 (Division Three) : 6th place () 2014 (Division Four) : 4th place () 2016 (Division Four) : 6th place () 2017 (Division Five) : 4th place
Other regional tournaments T20WC Europe Regional Final (T20I) T20WC Europe Sub-regional Qualifiers (T20I) European Cricket Championship (LA/50 overs) European T20 C'ship Division One (T20) 2019: 3rd place (DNQ) 2021: 3rd place (DNQ) 2023: 3rd place (DNQ) 2025: Runners-up (Q) 2027: Received a bye 2018: Winners (Q) 2022: Winners (Q) 2024: Winners (Q) 2026: Received a bye 1996: 7th place 1998: 5th place 2000: 5th place 2002: 6th place 2006: 5th place 2008: 5th place 2010: 6th place 2011: Runners-up (Q) 2013: Winners (Q) 2015: 3rd place
Current squad Italy's squad for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup in February 2026 included the following players: Name Age Batting style Bowling style Notes Batters Anthony Mosca Right-handed Right-arm off break Justin Mosca Left-handed Right-arm medium Syed Naqvi Right-handed Right-arm medium Zain Ali Right-handed Right-arm off break All-rounders Wayne Madsen Right-handed Right-arm off break Captain Grant Stewart Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium JJ Smuts Right-handed Left-arm orthodox spin Jaspreet Singh Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Benjamin Manenti Right-handed Right-arm off break Harry Manenti Right-handed Right-arm off break Wicket-keepers Marcus Campopiano Right-handed Right-arm offbreak Gian-Piero Meade Right-handed Right-arm medium Spin Bowlers Crishan Kalugamage Right-handed Right-arm leg spin Pace Bowlers Thomas Draca Right-handed Right-arm fast Ali Hasan Right-handed Left-arm medium-fast
Coaching staff Role Name Head coach John Davison Assistant Coach Dougie Brown Assistant Coach Kevin O’Brien Team Manager Peter DiVenuto Physiotherapist Thihan Chandramohan Strength & Conditioning Coach Marco Mastrorocco Analyst Mohsin Sheikh
International grounds
Ground City Region Capacity Matches hosted Notes Roma Cricket Ground Rome Lazio 1,000 T20Is, ICC qualifiers Main venue for Italy's national team; hosted ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifiers Jesselton Cricket Ground Jesolo Veneto 800 T20Is Used for ICC Europe development tournaments Simar Cricket Ground Palermo Sicily 1,200 T20Is Hosts international matches; part of ICC Europe's southern development region
Records and statistics International Match Summary — Italy Last updated 19 February 2026 Playing Record Format M W L T NR Inaugural Match Twenty20 Internationals 43 26 16 0 1 25 May 2019
Twenty20 International