The Italian job: Manenti's next mission

Ben Manenti hopes to feature in another unlikely triumph as he joins Italy's attempt to qualify for their first ever men's ICC tournament

Built for the 1960 Summer Olympics, the Roman Olympic Village has hosted sportspeople from all disciplines, from athletics to football, rugby and tennis.

And now cricketers can be added to the list of those lucky enough to have graced the esteemed sporting precinct.

Just months after helping South Australia to an improbable Sheffield Shield and One-Day Cup double, Ben Manenti has been one of those cricketers and is chasing another unlikely triumph.

Manenti's next mission is with the Italian cricket team. Throughout July he will represent the Azzurri, made possible thanks to his Italian grandparents and dual passport, as they seek to qualify for their first ever men's ICC tournament; the 2026 T20 World Cup.

In preparation for this month's European Regional Qualifiers, the Italian squad spent a week at the 65-year-old Village in Rome's Municipio II suburb before heading to the Netherlands for their all-important matches.

Manenti represented Italy in 2023 as their quest to make the 2024 edition was unsuccessful, but he's returned to Europe for another stint and feels a spot at the global tournament is within touching distance.

"It's not far (away) at all," Manenti told the Unplayable Podcast.

"We definitely think we can get there. (It'll be a) big couple of weeks."

02:08 Play video 'A sea of people coming at me': Manenti's Shield final memories

Italy have made the final stage of the qualification process and now need to finish in the top two out of a group of five to book their spot to India.

Standing in their way are Scotland and the Netherlands, who took the two European slots at the 2024 Cup, as well as Jersey and Guernsey.

But the Italians won't be relying solely on the skills of Manenti to see them to success as they have a strong core group of Australians who will don the royal blue during the round-robin matches in The Hauge.

Former Test opener Joe Burns will lead the side, while Australian-born Grant Stewart, who has been on a heater recently in county cricket for Kent, has played 14 T20Is for Italy.

Manenti's brother Harry, who featured in KFC BBL|14 for the Adelaide Strikers, is a "batter that bowls a bit" according to his older brother. Off the field the Azzurri can lean on the wisdom of John Davison and Peter Di Venuto, who both have experience in associate cricket as coaches.

However, there will still be plenty of unknowns.

"We're trying to work (the pitches) out," Manenti said.

"It's a hybrid pitch. So it's turf with 'Astro-turf' holding it together underneath.

"I haven't played on it.

"It could be a 'Bunsen burner' or it could be a fast, bouncy, WACA-type thing. We'll have to wait and see when we get there."

Although Manenti admits his grasp of the Italian language leaves plenty to be desired, the allrounder would happily represent the European nation on the grand stage if they went all the way. Not that he's getting too far ahead of himself just yet.

"A World Cup in India is probably the biggest sporting event in the world, with billions of eyeballs on it," Manenti said.

"Something like that would be wild.

"We've got a little bit to go before we get there, but it would be pretty amazing to be a part of.

"It's going to be a good couple of weeks.

"There's not too many cricketers that get to say they've had a week of training in Rome. So I've been very lucky with that."

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