The Hague – Italy’s men’s cricket team has made history by qualifying for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 for the first time, despite a defeat against the Netherlands in the final match of the Europe Region Qualifier.
In the crucial game held in The Hague, Italy secured second place on the points table, which was enough to book their spot in the global tournament scheduled to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka next year.
Italy entered the match at the top of the table with five points from three games and needed to avoid a heavy loss to ensure qualification.
A significant defeat could have opened the door for Jersey—who had stunned Scotland earlier—to surpass Italy on net run rate.
Batting first, Italy posted 134 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Ben Manenti was the top scorer with 30 runs, including one four and two sixes. Contributions also came from Grant Stewart (25), Harry Manenti (23), and captain Joe Burns (22).
The Netherlands’ Roelof van der Merwe led the bowling attack, claiming three wickets for just 15 runs in four overs. Kyle Klein took two wickets while Aryan Dutt picked up one.
In response, the Netherlands chased down the target comfortably, and reached 135 for 1 in just 16.3 overs.
Max O’Dowd remained unbeaten on 46 runs with three boundaries. He was supported by Michael Levitt (34) and captain Scott Edwards, who stayed not out on 37.
Krishan Kalugamage was the only wicket-taker for Italy.
While Italy lost the match, their bowlers played a crucial role by restricting the Netherlands from securing a victory with a big margin, which ultimately helped Italy clinch a historic qualification spot for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
