This participation is of great importance as it will be Italy s first-ever appearance in a cricket World Cup, a milestone for the team.
The Netherlands also qualified, easily racing to Italy s target of 135. Scotland s chances of qualifying were earlier brought to a crushing end after a poignant last-ball loss to Jersey, putting them out of contention. While Jersey made a nail-biting one-wicket victory, their chances were eventually dashed because of Italy s better net run-rate. Italy and Jersey both finished with five points, but Italy took the upper hand because of a superior overall performance in matches.
Read More: Curtis Campher becomes the first man in professional cricket to take five wickets in five balls
Italy just needed to prevent a thrashing to make progress, and by compelling the Netherlands to take 16.2 overs to reach the target, they managed to do that. Italy s qualification was ensured by the 15th over of the Dutch match.
Batting first, Italy got off to a nervous start, losing openers Justin Mosca and Emilio Gay early on. Skipper Joe Burns made 22 before getting out in the seventh over. Italy were soon 46 for 4 before a recovery was led by Ben Manenti. He was well-supported by Grant Stewart (25 off 16) and Anthony Mosca (13* off 14), taking Italy to a spirited total of 134 for 7. Dutch spinner Roelof van der Merwe was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 15, which included Burns important wicket.
The Netherlands opened with fire, scoring 66 without loss in the powerplay. Max O Dowd and Michael Levitt contributed 71 for the first wicket before Levitt was caught out on 34. O Dowd and captain Scott Edwards guided their side home with an unbroken 64-run partnership.
Even though Harry Manenti was wicketless in the final match, he topped the wicket-takers in the European regional qualifiers with eight wickets at a remarkable average of 9.62.
For Jersey, their up-down emotional first-ever victory against Scotland wasn t sufficient to carry them through. While in pursuit of 134, they were 81 for 1 before they faltered to 129 for 9. They required five runs off the last four balls and were just able to pass it. But Netherlands victory against Italy condemned Jersey to exit.
With Italy and Netherlands now booked, 15 sides have now qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026. The last five places will be taken through the coming East Asia-Pacific and Africa qualifiers.
