The International Cricket Thread

[Monty]

I kind of can't believe Usman Tariq's bowling action is allowed. I'm sure it is, I mean to say - I just find it hard to believe there's no rule being contravened by it.

[paul_e]

There doesn't seem to be any unreasonable 'flex' to his arm and whilst he does sometimes have his arm quite flat I don't think there's any rule against that either.

What I do find a bit dodgy though is that he does a little stutter in the crease, I suspect that will get looked at.

[Monty]

What I do find a bit dodgy though is that he does a little stutter in the crease, I suspect that will get looked at.

That's what I mean, they outlawed the excessive stop-start in penalty run-ups, I assumed there was some similar provision in the rules of cricket.

[paul_e]

What I do find a bit dodgy though is that he does a little stutter in the crease, I suspect that will get looked at.

That's what I mean, they outlawed the excessive stop-start in penalty run-ups, I assumed there was some similar provision in the rules of cricket.

I can't see anything to say it's illegal and given I don't think anyone has done it before I can see why it's never been added. When it only really applies to spinners as well it just feels like something you'd never expect to need to outlaw.

[Baldy]

Didn't know Italy had a cricket team but they are tearing Nepal a new one.

England need to show Italy respect.

[Monty]

Didn't know Italy had a cricket team but they are tearing Nepal a new one.

England need to show Italy respect.

A lot of grandparents being thanked for this one I think.

[Monty]

[New sentence alert] Italy win by ten wickets.

[Baldy]

Didn't know Italy had a cricket team but they are tearing Nepal a new one.

England need to show Italy respect.

A lot of grandparents being thanked for this one I think.

Yes, from listening to commentators, don't think there are many cricket pitches in Italy.

A lot of their players play at a high level throughout the world.

[cdbearsfan]

From Wiki:

Italy has historically featured a large number of dual nationals in its squads at ICC tournaments, particularly Australian, English and South African players of Italian descent, who have never resided in Italy and do not play in Italian domestic cricket.The team withdrew from the 2001 ICC Trophy after the ICC ruled that citizenship by descent would not be sufficient for player eligibility, thereby disqualifying four members of the Italian squad including former Australian domestic player Joe Scuderi.

In 2023, it was reported that Italy had pursued a strategy of recruiting professional cricketers from Australia and England to play in the regional final of the 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, including South African Wayne Madsen and Australians Ben Manenti, Harry Manenti and Spencer Johnson. The recruits, while holding Italian passports and meeting ICC regulations for representing the country, had only tenuous direct connections with Italy.

Italy's squad for its inaugural appearance at the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup included no Italian-born players. Only five out of the fifteen players named in the World Cup squad were Italian residents, all of whom had immigrated from South Asian countries as teenagers or young adults. JJ Smuts, a South African franchise player, was named in Italy's squad after acquiring Italian citizenship via his wife, whose great-grandfather was born in Italy.

Still, hopefully it gets some press attention and encourages others to give it a go.

[Villan For Life]

Some more background on the Italians:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/cdjnj7grkk4o

That’s a crazy result, Nepal aren’t a bad side and pushed England close at the weekend yet they got well beaten by the Italians. T20 is a crazy, unpredictable game at times.

[paul_e]

T20 is all about momentum, a wicket often leads to 2 or 3, a decent powerplay often leads to a comfortable chase, etc.

England aren't having a great tournament because we've struggled to build any momentum in either game.

[Villa Lew]

Didn't know Italy had a cricket team but they are tearing Nepal a new one.

England need to show Italy respect.

A lot of grandparents being thanked for this one I think.

Yes, from listening to commentators, don't think there are many cricket pitches in Italy.

A lot of their players play at a high level throughout the world.

They're doing better than their football team!

[PaulWinch again]

Cracking effort from Zimbabwe.