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NEW DELHI: Football powerhouse Italy will get an opportunity to make a mark on cricket’s biggest stage when they take on Scotland in a historic ICC T20 World Cup debut clash on Monday.

Winners of four FIFA World Cups, the Azzurri now make way for Gli Azzurri, who find themselves scripting an unlikely cricketing story after qualifying for the expanded 20-team tournament through the European regional qualifiers last July.

Italy and Channel Islanders Jersey, who stunned Scotland, finished on five points, but the Italians sealed second place behind the Netherlands on superior net run rate to book their maiden appearance at the global showpiece.

A forgotten cricketing past, a new beginning

For a country whose cricketing history dates back to 1793 — when English naval hero Horatio Nelson reportedly “organised the first-ever recorded game in Naples” — qualification marks a fascinating return to long-forgotten roots.

The sport’s legacy still lingers in football-mad Italy, with Genoa, the country’s oldest football club founded in 1893, still officially known as Genoa Cricket and Football Club, while AC Milan began life as Milan Football & Cricket Club.

More than a century on, Italy may not boast a single turf wicket, but the game survives through around 4,000 registered men’s players and nearly 80 clubs competing in a two-tier league system. The national side is largely built around players of Italian heritage and first- or second-generation immigrants.

Captain Wayne Madsen is South African-born and qualifies through his Italian grandmother, set to make his cricket World Cup debut two decades after representing his native country in the hockey World Cup.

Bowler Crishan Kalugamage moved to Italy from Sri Lanka at the age of 15, while wicketkeeper Marcus Campopiano was born in England to an Italian father.

The 15-member squad features two sets of Australian brothers with Italian roots — Harry and Ben Manenti, and Anthony and Justin Mosca — while former South Africa all-rounder JJ Smuts brings valuable experience. Former Ireland all-rounder Kevin O’Brien is part of the coaching staff.

Back home, awareness of Italy’s achievement remains limited.

“I’m sure no more than 10 per cent in the country knows that Italy is making its debut in the T20 World Cup,” someone from the team admitted.

Madsen, however, believes the momentum is slowly building.

“I know there have been some articles in local papers, so the message is starting to get out that we’re here at the World Cup and it’s going to be our first. It’s obviously a big moment for cricket in Italy and for growing the game.

“But once the World Cup starts and the games are on television, that awareness will only grow. We’re expecting more momentum once the tournament is properly underway for us.”

Form, rivalry and Scotland’s challenge

Unlike their opponents, who entered the tournament late following Bangladesh’s withdrawal, Italy arrive with preparation and planning firmly in place.

There is also a wider sporting rivalry at play. Only on Saturday night, Italy edged Scotland 18–15 in the Six Nations rugby in Rome.

“We saw the rugby team get one over Scotland yesterday, so hopefully we can emulate that tomorrow when we start against Scotland,” said the Italian skipper.

On current form, Italy will not be easy opponents. They have won their last three matches — warm-up games against Canada and the UAE before beating Ireland in their build-up series, marking their first-ever victory over an ICC Full Member.

They had also shocked Scotland by 12 runs in the European qualifier, a result that proved crucial in sealing their World Cup berth.

Scotland, however, remain cautious.

“That defeat was obviously disappointing. We did have a bit of a hiccup during that tournament, but we’re focusing on what we can do better,” said pacer Safyaan Sharif.

After making a late entry into the competition, Scotland showed glimpses of promise but struggled with the bat in a 35-run loss in their opening match at this venue on Saturday.

“One team has to lose. Unfortunately, it was us. But the character we showed gives us confidence that there are exciting things to come,” he added.

Teams:

Scotland: Richie Berrington (captain), Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross, Bradley Currie, Oliver Davidson, Chris Greaves, Zainullah Ihsan, Michael Jones, Michael Leask, Finlay McCreath, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt and Brad Wheal.

Italy: Wayne Madsen (captain), Marcus Campopiano, Gian Piero Meade, Zain Ali, Ali Hasan, Crishan Jorge, Harry Manenti, Anthony Mosca, Justin Mosca, Syed Naqvi, Ben Manenti, Jaspreet Singh, JJ Smuts, Grant Stewart and Thomas Draca

Match starts: 11am IST

(With PTI Inputs)