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Former Australian allrounder Moises Henriques has switched his allegiance and committed to his birthland, Portugal, in a T20 World Cup push, with the associate nation trying to find a place in the 2028 edition of the tournament, which will be played Down Under.
Henriques, who was born in Portugal before moving to Australia as an infant, has committed to helping his birth country qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup, as per CODE Sports.
Henriques is all set to represent Portugal in August’s European sub-regional qualifier in Finland, where they will take on the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece and Israel.
“The opportunity for growth in the game around the world, it is probably not just my Portuguese heritage but, more importantly, the game and the opportunity for growth worldwide,”
Henriques said while speaking to Code Sports.
“We can improve the quality of all the engagement in, say, another 10 or 20 nations around the world and then you are looking at cricket World Cups that stop the entire world, as opposed to a couple of Western countries and the subcontinent,” Henriques added.
The 39-year-old was born in Funchal, the capital of Portugal’s Madeira island, which is also the birthplace of football great Cristiano Ronaldo.
Henriques represented Australia in 44 international games across formats, including four Tests, with his most recent appearance coming in a T20I against Bangladesh in 2021.
Henriques is eligible to represent Portugal as ICC regulations require only a three-year stand-down period before a cricketer can switch from a Full Member country to an Associate Member after their last international appearance.
Henriques follows former Australia opener Joe Burns, who helped Italy qualify for this year’s T20 World Cup in the subcontinent.
The 2028 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, will feature 20 teams, with Europe allocated two qualifying spots in addition to automatic entrants England and Ireland.
