Federazione Cricket Italiana

---

Set up by the Federazione Cricket Italiana in conjunction with Fila Australia's dynamic manager, Silvano Merlatti, under the auspices of the International Cricket Council Development Program Europe and Cricket Australia, the Italian cricket Academy in Australia has now reached its 3rd year of activity having moved from Hobart to Melbourne.
 
Originally an idea of Peter Di Venuto, former Italian international and older brother of Tasmania and Derbyshire's Michael, the Academy was launched in November 2002 when Edoardo GALLO, Gabriele PASSARETTI and Ivan SARNELLI spent three months in Hobarth playing for Kingsborough. Edoardo and Gabriele went on to represent Italy in the ECC European Championships (ICC WCQS) last July, with the former taking 5/17 vs Gibraltar and the latter being voted Player of the Tournament on the strength of his 19 victims behind the stumps.

Last year, it was the turn of Daniele CONSOLI, Luca MORETTI and Francesco PAMPALLONA to go through the Tasmanian routine playing with Glenorchy under the coaching of  Glenn Hughes, brother of former Australian skipper Kim.

The move to Melbourne was a natural consequence of the increased demand by young Italians to savour the Australian experience. On the wave of Italy's triumphant Belgian campaign, two of the young indigenous players in the national squad, Kelum PERERA and Francesco SCARPONI, were sent "down under" to prepare the forthcoming ICC WCQS Division 2 tournament which shall take place in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) from February 21 to 27. They were joined by 3 other promising young Azzurri, William CHEYNE, Jacopo MARTINO DE' CARLES and Francesco MELCHIORRI.

The boys are involved in a full immersion into all the aspects of the game under the supervision of Ross Turner and Anna Ryan of Cricket Australia and Riccardo Tenuta, Chairman of Rosebank Cricket Club. Playing over the weekend with either Rosebank the JIKA League or  Haig Amateur, the club of Italian international Nicola Puccio, in the MMVCA League, the boys also take part in the midweek Crusader program under the scrutiny of the one and only Swan Richards. 

The ultimate goal of the Italian Academy is to build the cricket awareness of Italian youths who, talented as they may be, play cricket at home in an environment completely alien to the game. In this respect the cultural growth is much more important than the technical one, bearing in mind the future of Italian cricket.