Former Aussie opener Joe Burns, who played 34 international matches for Australia, is now the new captain of Italy’s cricket. Burns shifted from the Australian cricket team to Italy in May earlier this year. Burns is an Australian born in Brisbane, but his mother has Italian lineage, on whose basis Burns made his debut for the Italy Cricket team in June 2024.
Since June 2024, Burns has played in five T20Is for Italy, scoring 211 runs at an average of 70.33 and a strike rate of 144.52. Burns scored an unbeaten hundred in his most recent appearance for Italy, scoring 108* off 55 balls against Romania in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifier Group A game.
“I am honoured to take on this role and represent Italy on the international stage. For me, it is a return to my family’s roots. Italian cricket has enormous potential and I am excited to contribute to its growth. Together with my team-mates, we are working to achieve ambitious goals and make our fans proud.” Burns said in a statement after becoming captain of Italy.
The president of the Italian Cricket Federation, Fabio Marabini, said that Joe Burns is the most fitted person for this role right now, and he will succeed in his new role in the Italian cricket team.
“Since day one, Joe has shown great generosity and professionalism, putting his experience and competitive spirit at the disposal of the team. His choice as captain reflects our ambition to take Italian cricket to new levels. We are also counting on his leadership to play a leading role in the next qualifying stages for the 2026 T20 World Cup.” Fabio Marabini said.
Apart from playing for Italy, Joe Burns also has commitments for franchise cricket; he has signed a contract with Dubai Capitals for the upcoming season of the UAE’s ILT20.
Before switching to Italy, Joe Burns had a 10-year-long cricket career with Australia from 2014 to 2024. During this period, Burns played 34 matches across all formats and scored 1799 runs at an average of 37.47. Joe Burns registered 5 centuries in his Australian cricket career—4 in test matches and 1 in T20Is.
