The tail grows longer

“Over six hours of game time for even One-day matches,people here are just not used to wasting a day watching a sport. It is almost like working at having fun and also cricket is not something people have grown up watching,” says Peter Petricola,one of the mainstays of the side.

Michael Di Venuto,who played nine ODIs for Australia and several seasons of county cricket before deciding to “give something back to Italy”,is of a similar view. “A big detraction is that you can’t always bring your sons and daughters out to watch a game for the whole day. The T20 format is short and sharp. It is fast,fun and entertaining and captures the imagination of the fans. It is one of the best ways to introduce new people to cricket.”

While it is only of late that the up-country player has broken through consistently in a cricket powerhouse like India,it is in the provinces that the sport in Italy has laid its roots into. “In the last ten years we have come up in leaps and bounds. There is a growing and passionate following for the game particularly in the not so big cities,among local communities in places like Bologna,Genoa and Tuscany,” says Alessandro Bonora,the skipper of the side. “Exposure allows for better results internationally and that will help in reaching a critical mass of talent back home” says Bonora.

And the results have started to trickle in. Less than a month after the Italian football team slumped to its first ever defeat to the USA,a revenge of sorts was claimed. During the ongoing World T20 qualifier,Italy put one over on the USA,who are not just higher ranked and have had a longer association with cricket,but are also better served by the expatriate contingent. Not that many people outside the playing eleven knew of the win,though. “News got out mainly through Twitter and blogs. There were a couple of articles about cricket in the papers,but nothing much on TV,” says Petricola.