Eden Diary: A dash of azzurri raises curiosity level in T20 World Cup

The excitement in Giacomo Fasola was palpable as the Italian team lined for the national anthem in their famous blue - alongwith Scotland - for their first-ever bow in a ICC World Cup at the Eden Gardens. ‘’Come to think of it, I never dreamt that I would be travelling to India to cover my team playing in a cricket World Cup ever,’’ said Fasola, one of the three journalists travelling with the Azzurri.

 A match-up between two minnows, that too on a Monday morning, was not exactly the best bet to lure the crowd at the Eden, but Giacomo – a reporter with the renowned Corriere della Sera could not be perturbed. ‘’The world knows us as a football power and hence, there are very few cricket journalists in Italy. It was about 12 years back that I wrote a book: Italian Cricket Club but never expected to see this day,’’ he said during an informal chat.

Much like the composition of other associate members in the showpiece, there is a liberal mix of players from Indian sub-continent – five of them while the remaining 10 is a combination of former South African internationals and Italians who play in their league.  The most experienced customer of them is J.J.Smuts, a former Protea while 42-year-old Wayne Madsen, another South African, is leading the squad.

Speaking during the pre-match press conference, Madsen hoped that his side’s history-making entry into the T20 World Cup will inspire the country’s four-time FIFA World Cup-winning football team, which is currently in danger of missing a third successive global final. A football royalty, the country of Luigi Riva, Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini have last qualified in the 2014 edition in Brazil and are now banking on a play-off in March to travel to the US.

“Hopefully, we can inspire the football team to a World Cup as well and that will be quite nice if we can perform to a level that inspires them to get to the World Cup,” Madsen said – though they started their campaign on a poor note against Scotland, allowing them to run away to a mammoth 207 for four. To add to their cup of woes, Madsen dislocated his shoulder while trying to step a boundary early in the fourth over and was ruled out of the match.

The cricketing infrastructure may still be a work in progress in Italy but with the Olympic status accorded to the sport, things would change, remarked head coach John Davison. The news of a European T20 franchise league, set to be an addition to the burgeoning leagues in the country, has been music to their ears as it may open up employment opportunites.

“In terms of the number of clubs, I know we’ve got over 100 clubs in the country and yes, we don’t have a turf pitch yet. That’s, obviously, one of the focuses of the federation going forward — to try and do that so that we can have international cricket in the country and that will then lead to the game further developing and getting better within Italy,” he said.

“In terms of funding, I think because cricket is now an Olympic sport and we fall under the Olympic umbrella. I’m not sure of the figures but you know if you’re an Olympic sport, you are better funded,” Davison added.