Former Australia opener Joe Burns appointed captain of Italy's cricket team

Former Australian cricketer Joe Burns has been named the new captain of Italy's national cricket team.

Burns, who was born in Brisbane, made his Test debut for Australia in 2014 and played for the national team until December 2020. During his career with the Australian side, he featured in 23 Test matches, scoring 1,442 runs in 40 innings. Burns also scored 4 centuries and 7 half-centuries in Test cricket, with an average of 36.97.

In addition to his Test career, Burns played 6 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for Australia and scored 20 centuries in domestic first-class cricket in Australia.

Earlier this year, Burns decided to end his international career with Australia and qualify to play for Italy. In May 2023, he became eligible to represent Italy and made his debut in June, playing his first T20I for the Italian team.

So far, Burns has played 5 T20 internationals for Italy, scoring a total of 211 runs. His impressive performance has earned him the role of captain for Italy’s T20 cricket team.

Expressing his excitement, Burns said, "It is an honour to captain Italy. This team has great potential, and I am excited to contribute to the development of Italian cricket."

With his leadership, Burns is expected to play a key role in Italy’s cricketing future as they continue to grow on the international stage.