You’d be forgiven for thinking that Surrey’s involvement in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka centres around the England trio, but did you know that a member of our cricket department plays for tournament debutants Italy?
Marcus Campopiano, the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Women’s team, has been involved with Azzurri since making his debut against Uganda in 2022.
“Campo”, as he goes by at the Kia Oval, qualifies through holding a passport as his Nonna is from Caserta (near Napoli).
His journey to the World Cup started when he was playing for Sussex’s Second XI against Northamptonshire. Gareth Berg, now Italy Head Coach, noticed and put him in touch with the team manager. After debuting in 2022, Campo has been an ever-present in the squad.
Balancing being an international cricketer and working as a coach has been a difficult one to balance.
On this, Marcus said: “It’s a massive challenge! But I am lucky to collaborate and talk with some excellent coaches. It’s a lot of training in the morning and after work. I try to do the best can with every day!”
The Italian team is a “real melting pot of cultures”, with a mix of players from Australia, South Africa and the UK with Italian roots, mixed with local Italians and Italians of South Asian heritage.
The squad is captained by Derbyshire’s Wayne Madsen and includes Kent’s Grant Stewart, as well as JJ Smuts, who has previously played for South Africa.
There are currently over 100 cricket clubs in Italy, but access to cricket-specific facilities is a struggle. There are plans however to build a cricket-specific ground near Rome.
Italy have taken the long route to reach the World Cup. It all started 18 months ago when they won the sub-regional qualifiers against France, Luxembourg and Romania. They went on a historic run in the 2025 Qualifiers, beating Scotland and Guernsey to finish second and qualify alongside the Netherlands.
While preparing for the upcoming tournament, the Azzurri claimed their first win against a Test-playing nation when they beat Ireland last week in one of their three IT20s.
On that historic win, Campo said: “The win over Ireland was one of the most incredible wins I’ve ever been a part of.
“To have that amount of quality on show within the game and to turn them over in Dubai was just like a once in a lifetime opportunity and something that’s given us lots of confidence moving forward.”
“Being at the crease at the end was a great experience and you know I’ve put so much work, there’s so much sacrifice that all the players have to go through because the majority of the squad aren’t full-time professionals. We make a lot of sacrifices to play for Italy – both financially and time-wise. So, to beat a team like Ireland, that’s an incredible achievement for us and it’s one that we hold dearly to our hearts.
The team, who communicate with a mix of Italian and English, sing Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli after every win and sing Sarà perché ti amo on the bus to and from games.
The tournament debutants are slotted in Group C alongside West Indies, Scotland, Nepal and England, who they face on 16 February.
On facing England and Surrey’s Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton, Campo said: “Playing against England, I mean, that is just insane. The quality and the depth that they have within their squads, their national squads, their A squads, their county squads.
“To think that they have 400 full-time professional cricketers and we have 4 to go against them is crazy! So, let’s see if we can do something special against them!”
The Italian team know they are up against it in India, but growing the game in Italy is a big aim for the group.
“Everyone is here for the legacy of Italian cricket”, said Marcus.
“We want to see Italian cricket move forward. We want to see more Italians playing the game. We want to see more cricket in schools, better facilities, better opportunities to train. We all understand kind of what’s in front of us and the massive impact that a few wins at the World Cup could have.
