Former Australia batter Joe Burns has been appointed as Italy’s captain after he shifted base to the country earlier this year.
Burns, born in Brisbane, played for Australia between 2014 and 2020, with his last appearance coming in the Boxing Day Test against India in 2020. He shited to Italy to pay homage to his late brother Dominic. The former Australia batter qualified to play for his new country through his mother’s heritage.
Having changed his allegiance, Burns has played five T20Is so far for Italy, scoring 211 runs in five innings at an average of 70.33. In his most recent outing, he notched up an unbeaten 55-ball 88, steering Italy to a win against Romania in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Europe Qualifier Group A.
View this post on Instagram
Burns: It is a return to my family's roots
After his impressive performance for Italy, Burns was appointed as the side's captain. In a statement, Burns said: "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."
Previously, for Australia, Burns had amassed 1,442 Test runs at 36.97, including four hundreds and seven fifties. He has also represented them in six ODIs.
In franchise T20 cricket, Burns is set for a stint with the Dubai Capitals for the upcoming season of the ILT20. He also has experience in the Vitaly Blast and BBL.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
