Italy have won the football World Cup four times, but when it comes to cricket they are minnows making a historic debut among the game's elite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Italians play Scotland in the T20 World Cup at Kolkata's famous Eden Gardens on Monday and will be the lowest-ranked team in the competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"How did we get to the World Cup? In Italy we say 'miracolo Italiano', an 'Italian miracle'," said Riccardo Maggio, development officer with the Italian Cricket Federation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Maggio has spent a lifetime helping cricket grow on the fringes of the football-obsessed nation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We're coming to the World Cup, and believe me, we're not coming just once for appearance," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Passion and the Italian way of doing things make us the miracle that we are."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Italy beat Scotland in the qualifiers and facing them again on Monday would be a "huge honour", said skipper Wayne Madsen.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Captaining Italy is not something I take lightly," the South Africa-born Madsen, 42, who has played English county cricket, told AFP.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Italy are in Group C and also face England, the West Indies and Nepal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- 'I'm going to cry' -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The challenge is huge, but Maggio has faith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 56-year-old played for Italy in a six-wicket victory over an England Cricket Board XI in 1998, a match that the ICC said "shocked" cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I was on the field that day and we had to play out of our skins," he said, voice trembling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"And now we're playing England at the World Cup. I'm sorry, but I'm going to cry."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Italy's federation says it has about 1,800 players and around 100 clubs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Football will always be huge in Italy, that's just the reality," Madsen said, adding that playing in the World Cup will be a "massive" boost.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"When people see Italy competing on a global stage, it sparks interest and belief," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Nelson, Genoa and AC Milan -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket actually has a long history in Italy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In 1793, English naval hero Horatio Nelson "organised the first-ever recorded game in Naples", according to the ICC, most likely to keep his sailors out of trouble while in port.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
An Italian English-born colonel, Francis Maceroni, then took the game to Naples in the 1810s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The first difficulty was to get bats and balls. I set to work and made both with my own hands," Maceroni wrote in his memoir.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club was founded in 1893 at the British consulate, aiming to play cricket in summer and football in winter.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It became the country's oldest football club, with Genoa winning the Italian Serie A championship nine times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's still called 'Genoa Cricket and Football Club'," Maggio noted.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
AC Milan, according to its club history, was founded as the "Milan Football and Cricket Club" in 1899.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Diverse squad -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Players and fans in Italian cricket come from around the world.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We have Italians from Australia, Italians from South Africa, the Asian-Italian community, Italians from Italy," Maggio said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Madsen will complete an unusual World Cup double on Monday -- playing in two different sports for two separate countries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He played at the field hockey World Cup for his native South Africa, but holds an Italian passport now through his ancestry.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Former South Africa T20 international JJ Smuts, who is now Italian through marriage, is also in the squad.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"A lot of our players have deep Italian roots and others have found their connection to Italy through life and opportunity," Madsen said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"What matters most isn't where you were born, but how much it means to you to wear this badge."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/02\/From-Football-Giants-to-Cricket-Dreamers-Italy\u2019s-Historic-T20-World-Cup-Moment.jpeg", "alt_img": "Italy Cricket Team in T20 WC 2026", "alt_title": "T20 World cup 2026", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "From Football Giants to Cricket Dreamers: Italy\u2019s Historic T20 World Cup Moment On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Four-time football world champions Italy make a historic debut at the T20 Cricket World Cup, embracing their \u201cmiracolo Italiano\u201d as they face Scotland, England, West Indies and Nepal.", "seo_keywords": "T20 World Cup 2026, Italy Cricket", "tag": null, "tagging": "T20 World Cup 2026,Italy Cricket,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "from-football-giants-to-cricket-dreamers-italys-historic-t20-world-cup-moment", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "531", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2026-02-08 12:24:40", "updated": "2026-02-08 12:24:40", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "T20 World Cup 2026, Italy Cricket", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2026-02-08 12:24:40", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/from-football-giants-to-cricket-dreamers-italys-historic-t20-world-cup-moment-187806" }