Italy’s players have spent the last 48 hours reminding themselves that, in T20 cricket, gaps between sides shrink fast. On Thursday they meet Nepal in Mumbai and, if Wayne Madsen is to be believed, the game will be treated as a genuine 50–50 rather than a plucky-underdog story.
“We all know that T20 brings the competition levels a lot closer together and it takes one or two special performances from a couple of players in a team to win a game,” Madsen said. “We can take a lot of confidence from having watched the Nepal-England game, but also the other games. USA played really well against India first game, and likewise the Netherlands against Pakistan.”
Those contests, tight almost to the final over, have given Italy’s dressing-room something tangible: proof that associates can inconvenience the game’s elite. Madsen went on: “So there have been some really good performances from the associate teams. We’ve come in with a lot of belief at the start of the tournament so I think for us is really backing ourselves and taking the game on.”
Head coach John Davison, never one for big speeches, struck a similar note while asking for a little more nerve after the opening-round defeat by Scotland. “My message to the team is to be more brave in situations to take the game on,” Davison said. “We had a few dismissals that were a little bit half-hearted [against Scotland]. Obviously, Eden Gardens was a really tough environment for bowlers, 200 looked intimidating, but I think that’s probably a pretty par score there. But I think we showed in periods with the Manenti boys and the good cricket shots at that stadium started to get the job done for us. We just need to do that for a longer period of time.”
Italy’s sole victory on this trip so far arrived in the warm-up phase, when they overturned UAE, a side well above them in the rankings. That result, according to the staff, has already been replayed more often than they care to admit. “Warm-up wins don’t add points,” one squad member muttered on Tuesday, “but they do add belief.”
Thursday’s fixture will be the first time Nepal and Italy have met in an official international. On paper the two look a reasonable match-up—Nepal’s spinners against Italy’s array of left-handers should be fun—but the crowd dynamic is likely to be one-sided. Wankhede Stadium was washed in Nepalese blue and red when Rohit Sharma’s side were given a scare last week; a repeat is expected.
“That [support for opposition] is something that we as players have to deal with and a lot of us do have experience with dealing with big crowds,” Madsen said. “I think the noise at the Wankhede, looking at the England game, was pretty unreal. And we’ve got to embrace that.
“You’re not going to play in front of atmospheres like this very often. So go out and enjoy yourselves and really embrace the moments, that’s going to be the message to the guys. And then concentrate and think clearly with what you have to do skill-wise. I think we’d much prefer to play in front of 35,000 Nepalese than no one.”
Italy’s bowling unit, which leaked 203 against Scotland, remains the obvious focus. Numbers reveal only two power-play dot-ball overs so far—insufficient against sides with fast hands through the ring. Davison, asked whether he might recall an extra seamer, just shrugged. The square at Wankhede can be tacky early, he hinted, before sliding through at night; reading it right is half the job.
Beyond this World Cup campaign, both captain and coach are thinking longer term. Madsen speaks openly about the need for a proper pathway at home—grass pitches, centralised strength-and-conditioning, a fixture list stretching beyond three summer months. “There have been some lengthy chats with the federation,” he admitted on the team bus, “and while that stuff doesn’t help you when a leg-spinner’s ripping it past your outside edge, it does make a difference in five years’ time.”
For now, Italy’s equation is simpler: beat Nepal and the group stays alive; lose and they probably pack their bags. It is the kind of clarity cricketers often say they enjoy. Whether clarity converts to execution under the lights on Thursday evening is the next question.
