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Chapter 1: What does it mean for Italy to be in a Cricket World Cup?
Well, it's so fucking awesome to have Italia at a Cricket World Cup. The Azzurri. He goes. The Azzurri. And a good portion of their arrival at this World Cup is down to four blokes we're about to talk to today who have piled into one room onto one screen. We've got the Minenti brothers, Ben and Harry, the Mosca brothers, AJ and Justin.
Now, I just want to say from the top, there's a lot of people who are going to do stories on these guys. They've done stories on these guys. There's going to be, you know, heartwarming stories about Italy and how good it is. And it's going to be a bit condescending and it's going to be a little bit, you know, like head patty. These guys shouldn't be treated like that in any way.
And I want to explain why. They have a particularly special relationship to the grade cricketer. Each of them are like famous, strong contributors to and former members of the Sydney Tigers Cricket Club in Sydney grade cricket, formerly Balmain.
which is where I played the majority of my grade cricket, and it's a club that, if we're honest, is a club whose characters and culture formed about 90% of the original inspiration for the grade cricketer.
Chapter 2: Who are the Manenti and Mosca brothers and their cricket background?
So we all share something in common of having played at this debauched place, and none of these guys deserve any kind of heartwarming conversation in any way.
Yeah.
I actually played with AJ. I'm sure he remembers it as well. So, AJ – oh, firstly, boys, welcome. Welcome to the Great Cricketer. Thanks, boys. Thanks for having us. Nice low octave voice there. Sydney Test Cricket. 75% of this chat, by the way, isn't about Italy. It's about Great Cricket. But AJ, former teammate, opens a batting for Italy or Italia. Happy for Giuseppe Burns' exit, by the way.
But if –
Chapter 3: How does grade cricket influence players' journeys to the World Cup?
If I could start with you, AJ, just an easy one to kick off. Do you think the ICC should punish Pakistan for boycotting the World Cup via Twitter? And what should those punishments be?
It's out of my pay bracket. I don't know what to say. Get to that. No, they shouldn't punish him, I don't think. That's all I've got for you, Ben.
Well, we can warm into it. Boys, everyone's going to want to talk about your Italian heritage, and we do too, and all that kind of stuff. But the real heritage here is... am I wrong in saying is Sydney grade cricket? I mean, can you tell us about your relationship?
It's an old question we used to ask on the show, but like what's your relationship to grade cricket and what influence has grade cricket had on your arrival at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka?
Yeah, it's had a big impact.
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Chapter 4: What are the challenges faced by the Italian cricket team in the World Cup?
Well, to start with, we wouldn't know each other, obviously, apart from our brothers. It's had a big impact on getting us where we are. It's taught us a lot of lessons, a lot of hard truths. As you know, Pez, it's a humbling game, great cricket. It brings you back down to earth very quickly, whether you played for Australia or whether you played in the fives.
Everyone seems to be on the same level when they're playing. So, no, it's taught us a lot and it's brought us a fair way of the journey to get us to this World Cup skill-wise and probably the way we are off the field as well.
How are you guys off the field, Harry?
Yeah, we've had a few slaps on the wrist from the support staff. When we first started our first tournament, Justin, AJ and I went over to Finland and we've grown a fair bit since then. We were sitting down in the pub most evenings, having a few steins, and then we ended up finding ourselves in a karaoke bar until 4am. Pre-fixture. So now we're on the waters in India, not the tap water.
But, yeah, now we're a bit more professional and just a couple of kingfishers in the team room now just to – seem like we're in the right place.
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Chapter 5: How did the team react to meeting Mario Balotelli?
Justin, I'll ask you. I mean, AC Milan, they used to be called AC Milan Cricket and Football Club. Football and Cricket Club, I think it was. AC Milan Football and Cricket Club. I want to know what kind of support you've had from the homelands back home. Have you guys been offered, you know, property in the Amalfi if you bring home the World Cup?
Yeah. One of the great cricket clubs, AC Milan, was actually inspiration for most of us playing. So, yeah. big supporter of AC Milan cricket, and he's got us to this position. And with a bit of luck, we actually met Balotelli the other night, who played for AC Milan. And we were all special guests at his function, so it was good to be a part of it all. Hang on. Hang on.
What's Mario Balotelli doing in here?
Chapter 6: What is the vibe like within the Azzurri team heading into the World Cup?
Doing in Chennai. All I need to do. It gets even better. This was actually at the Vogo Grand in Dubai, which was an academic hostel that Italy put us up in, which was top of the range.
Balotelli's just collecting his last few cheques in his late 30s, early 40s from a Dubai tax-free club.
Yeah.
And what's the transition into cricket?
Hang on.
So the Azuri cricket team is staying in Dubai, and Mario Balotelli's there, and then what? Like, AJ, you go up to Balotelli and go, we play for Italy, but with an Aussie accent.
No, no, no. No, no, no. AJ shits himself and goes, Justin, Justin, give me your phone. It's Balotelli. It's Balotelli.
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Chapter 7: What are the expectations for Italy's matches against top teams?
And then we got our manager to take a photo. who then took it landscape, which AJ looked enormous in the photo landscape and now hates it and doesn't want that photo to be ever seen.
What's Balotelli saying? Like, is he talking about cricket? Where are we at on Balotelli?
Why always me?
Yeah. Pretty much all he said to us was, we were obviously starstruck, or I was anyway, so I didn't really have much to say to him. My jaw was dropping, but... We had a photo, and he just looked at us, and he said on our shirt, obviously Federation of Cricket Italia, and he goes, in Bocca al Lupo, which is obviously the mouth of the wolf, and that was it. Then he went off and went an eight.
And then asked for our autographs, but we had to decline because we're on training duty. But listen, it gets even better. So we're at Dubai Airport. And we're in the Emirates lounge and we're sitting down, obviously taking a piss.
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Chapter 8: What reflections do the players have on their cricketing journey?
And I just see this guy walking towards me and it was Maldini. And that was, that was, yeah, I'm going to shed a tear.
So we got the same reaction from AJ twice in 24 hours as soon as he saw two soccer players.
We got this photo, we got this photo portrait though. That's going to top my bed head in a frame. Whether the missus likes it or not, I don't care.
I know there's so many like. Yeah, she's so in love. She doesn't have a missus. She's on the way.
She's on the way. Yeah. I know like there's a lot of stereotypical stories that people want to talk to you guys about as like representatives of Italy. You know, the one that always does the rounds is, you know, like when Christian Vieri, you know, Australian footballer was signed in the Serie A. He told the Italian press, like who asked him who his hero was. He said, my hero is Alan Borda.
Like who are your Italian heroes in football? I know we've mentioned two, but is there any reciprocal heroes from you guys or don't give one?
I'm happy to start this one, because growing up, football was everything to me. I just wanted to, you probably remember when I was playing with you at Sydney, I always, maybe it was just a bit after, but I used to try and cut my hair like Robbie Baggio. So growing up as a kid, it was Roberto Baggio. And obviously now it's a bit more, you and I look a bit more like Cannavaro.
He was one haircut away. He went from Robbie Baggio to Rana Naveed to now a golf ball.
Benny, can I ask you, I mean, how do you reckon, mate, how do you reckon Jersey will be feeling after Scotland have been selected over them to replace Bangladesh? So as I understand it, Jersey beat Scotland in the day you guys qualified. Jersey beat Scotland off the last ball to knock Scotland out. But then Jersey were also knocked out because the Netherlands beat you guys.
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