For the first time ever, Italy will be seen competing in a Cricket World Cup.
After defeating Scotland in their previous match, Italy had already paved the way toward qualification. All they needed in their final game was to avoid a heavy defeat—and that’s exactly what the Azzurri managed against the Netherlands, earning a historic ticket to the T20 World Cup.
Italy qualified for next year’s T20 World Cup as the second team from the European Qualifiers. While Italy has long been a powerhouse in football, this will mark their debut in any format of a cricket World Cup.
In the final qualifying match, the Netherlands sealed the top spot and booked their ticket by crushing Italy.
In Friday night’s match (Bangladesh time) in The Hague, the Dutch chased down Italy’s target of 135 with ease, winning by 9 wickets in just 16.2 overs.
With 6 points from 4 matches in the five-team qualifying group, the Netherlands topped the table. Their only defeat came against Scotland.
Italy, with 5 points from their 4 matches, secured the second spot. Jersey also finished with 5 points from the same number of games, but Italy edged ahead thanks to a superior net run rate (Italy 0.612 vs Jersey 0.306).
Earlier on Friday, Jersey kept their qualification hopes alive—and Italy’s as well—by pulling off a thrilling last-ball win against Scotland. Had Scotland won, Italy’s World Cup dreams would have been in serious danger.
In the final match of the qualifiers, Jersey was left hoping for a heavy defeat for Italy. And when Italy managed just 134 runs in the first innings, Jersey’s hopes were given a glimmer of life.
The qualification scenario was clear: if the Netherlands chased the target in 14.1 overs or fewer, Italy would be eliminated and Jersey would take the second qualification spot. The Dutch looked threatening early on, scoring 66 runs in the Powerplay and putting Italy under real pressure.
However, Italy fought back admirably and forced the Netherlands to take another 10.2 overs to get the remaining 69 runs. That effort shattered Jersey’s dream of a World Cup debut and fulfilled Italy’s.
With their places now confirmed, the Netherlands and Italy become the 14th and 15th teams to qualify for next year’s ICC T20 World Cup, set to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
The final two spots from the African region will be decided in September-October, while the last three places will be determined by teams from the East Asia-Pacific region in October.
