Last Updated on 10 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Moises Henriques will play for Portugal in the European sub-regional qualification tournament as part of the road to the 2028 T20 World Cup. Henriques, who has played 44 matches for Australia including four Tests, will represent the country of his birth in a bid to grow the game globally.
Opportunity to grow the game worldwide by playing for Portugal – Moises Henriques
Henriques was born in Portugal and moved to Australia as a baby. He last played for Australia in 2021, making him eligible to switch to an associate nation per the ICC rules as more than three years have elapsed since he last featured for a full member team.
In an interview with CODE Sports, Henriques said that representing his Portugese heritage will be an honour, but growing cricket worldwide is most important. He has a vision where a Cricket World Cup can feature more teams.
“I guess the opportunity for growth in the game around the world, it’s probably not just my Portuguese heritage, but the game, more importantly, and the opportunity for growth worldwide,” Henriques said.
“We can improve the quality of all the engagement in, say, another 10 or 20 nations around the world, and then you’re looking at cricket World Cups that stop the entire world, as opposed to a couple of Western countries and the subcontinent.”
The last two men’s T20 World Cups have featured 20 teams. The 2026 edition saw many competitive matches in the group stages, with associate nations more than holding their own. It had a feel-good factor to it, with the likes of Nepal nearly beating England, Netherlands coming within a whisker of knocking off Pakistan, and Italy giving England an almighty scare.
Henriques wants to see more of the same in the future, and has the added benefit of a proud family backing him.
“My family back in Portugal would be all really proud to see me doing it as well. Both my brothers think it’s cool, they were both born here in Australia after we moved here, where I was actually born in Portugal,” he said.
Portugal are set to feature in the European sub-regional qualification Qualifier C along with Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Isle of Man, Israel, Luxembourg and Spain
“As a result of hard and long-term work, in collaboration with the cities of Kerava and Vantaa, it is a great honour for both the Cricket Association and our partners to have the World Cup qualifiers back in Finland. Organising such a major event for a new Olympic sport provides a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile and introduce the Finnish public to this world-famous sport,” says Andy Armitage, Executive Director of the Cricket Association, as quoted by Cricket Finland.
