Italy crowned U19 champions as Guernsey claim third place

Italy were crowned ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Europe Division 2 Qualifier champions after a dominant nine-wicket victory over Sweden in Thursday’s final in Guernsey.

Having already beaten Sweden comfortably during the group stage, Italy once again proved too strong, bowling their opponents out for 159 in 49.1 overs before cruising to 161/1 with 17 overs to spare.

Thishen Perera and Jone Ali both took three wickets to restrict Sweden, whose top scorer was Nischith Mokhamatam with 28.

Italy’s chase was built around unbeaten half-centuries from Rehan Kiriella (54 not out) and player of the match Gianluca Larucci (53), as the champions lost just one wicket.

The victory completed an impressive turnaround for Italy, who began the tournament with a 22-run defeat to Switzerland before winning four consecutive matches to secure the title.

Sweden’s route to the final had included two of the tournament’s biggest wins, beating the Isle of Man by 248 runs and Switzerland by 180 runs, while Muhammad Khattak’s blistering 171 against Switzerland was one of the standout individual performances of the competition. However, they were unable to reproduce that form against Italy, scoring just 122 and 159 in their two meetings.

Earlier in the week, Sweden had booked their place in the final with a 38-run semi-final victory over Guernsey, posting 251/8 before dismissing the hosts for 213.

Guernsey bounced back in the third-place play-off, overcoming Germany to finish the tournament on a high and secure a podium finish on home soil.

The qualifier formed part of the pathway towards the 2028 ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, with Italy emerging as the standout team thanks to a balanced combination of disciplined bowling and composed run chases throughout the week.