Born in Cristiano Ronaldo’s hometown, former Australia cricketer to lead Portugal’s T20 World Cup bid | Cricket News
Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques will captain Portugal as they attempt to qualify for the T20 World Cup for the first time.Henriques, who played four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Australia, will lead Portugal’s 14-member squad at the T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Finland.The Portuguese Cricket Federation announced the squad on Tuesday, with Henriques named captain. He was born in Madeira, the hometown of Portugal football captain Cristiano Ronaldo, before his family moved to Australia when he was a child.Henriques played 24 T20Is, 16 ODIs and four Tests for Australia. His last international appearance came in August 2021, when he played a T20I against Bangladesh. He became eligible to represent Portugal in June after completing the required three-year cooling-off period for players switching from an ICC Full Member to an Associate nation.Henriques announced last month that he was retiring from Australian domestic cricket but would continue playing overseas. He has a contract with Glasgow Cosmic for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League. On Monday, he was also named Portugal’s captain for their T20 World Cup qualifying campaign in Finland.Portugal are ranked 37th in the ICC men’s T20I rankings. They will face Israel, Germany, Greece and Czechia in Group B of the T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C from August 14 to 20. The group winner will face the winner of Group A in the final on August 21.The winner of the qualifier will advance to the European regional final, where Scotland, Jersey and Denmark will join them. The top two teams from the regional final will then qualify for the global qualifier as they bid to reach the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.Portugal’s squad also features Craig Cachopa, the former Sussex, Auckland and Wellington wicketkeeper-batter; Cameron Shekleton, who has represented South Africa A; Sebastian de Oliveira, who played one List A match for Gauteng alongside Ryan Rickelton; and Bangladesh-born spinner Siraj Ullah Khadem, who was included in the longlist for this year’s Hundred auction.Henriques takes over the captaincy from Carlos Nunes, who captains Twickenham in the Middlesex County Cricket League in England. Nunes remains part of the 14-member squad.Portugal squad: Moises Henriques (capt), Craig Cachopa, Edward Fleming, Christopher de Freitas, Rahulkumar Hashu, Siraj Ullah Khadem, Hardeep Khuttan, Jeremy Martins, Dhavalkumar Norotam (wk), Jordan Netto, Carlos Nunes, Sebastian de Oliveira, Upen Shantu, Cameron Shekleton.Portugal fixtures: vs Israel (August 14), vs Germany (August 15), vs Greece (August 17), vs Czechia (August 20), Final (August 21).
