分类： sports

At 39 years old, fresh off retiring from Australian domestic cricket this past July following a 420-match career across all formats, veteran all-rounder Moises Henriques is embarking on one final, deeply personal cricket adventure. The former Australian international, who earned 44 caps for his adopted country between 2009 and 2021 across Tests, ODIs and T20Is, has switched national allegiances to represent his birth nation Portugal — and he says guiding the small European cricket program to its first-ever men’s T20 World Cup would be the crowning achievement of his late career.

Henriques will lead Portugal as captain at the European sub-regional T20 World Cup qualifier kicking off Friday in Finland, a tournament that marks the first step on the long road to the global showcase. Born in Funchal on Portugal’s Madeira Island, Henriques moved to Sydney with his family at the age of two, when his father — a former second-division Portuguese footballer — relocated to Australia in search of better professional opportunities. Growing up with an unfamiliar given name and limited English skills in his Australian primary school, Henriques credits cricket with helping him find confidence and a sense of belonging, eventually working his way up to the highest level of the sport, wearing Australia’s iconic Baggy Green Test cap.

It has been just five years since Henriques even learned that Portugal fielded a national cricket team, but he says he has been stunned by the depth of talent assembled in the current squad. Henriques pointed to Italy’s run earlier this year, where the European side qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup after starting their campaign at the same sub-regional stage that Portugal enters this week. That precedent is exactly what he is targeting, he told the BBC Stumped podcast in an interview.

“Obviously, the ideal, the nirvana, would be to replicate what Italy have done,” Henriques said. “Whether that’s realistic for this World Cup, or the following, I don’t know. We’ll only be able to tell in a couple of games. I’m sure there’s a lot of opposition that feel that they might be able to do something similar.”

Portugal, currently ranked 37th in the global T20 rankings, is drawn into Group B of the 10-team Finland qualifier alongside Czech Republic, Germany, Greece and Israel. If they advance out of this week’s tournament, they will move on to a European final regional qualifier next year, where they will face off against Scotland, Jersey and Denmark for a spot in the T20 World Cup.

While Henriques notes that representing Australia and earning a Baggy Green will always be a hard achievement to top, he says pulling on Portugal’s national shirt as captain carries a unique, special meaning. He reconnected with his birthplace during a visit to Madeira last year, and says the experience deepened his connection to the country. “When I played for Australia, my family also felt I was representing them as well. I’m representing the motherland, so to speak, and it’s going to feel somewhat similar,” he explained. “Hopefully we can make a positive impact trying to grow the sport in Portugal and probably Europe more broadly as well.”

Madeira’s most famous native son is global football icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who has the island’s airport renamed in his honor. When asked about the possibility of similar recognition if he pulls off a World Cup qualification, Henriques joked that he would be happy to get a helicopter pad named after him.

Henriques is far from the only high-level professional in Portugal’s squad, a fact that has surprised even him. South African batter Cameron Shekleton, who has played first-class cricket and featured for the Proteas A side, is part of the roster, while former New Zealand Under-19 captain Craig Cachopa, who has represented Sussex, Auckland and Wellington at the domestic level, also joins the group. “I was quietly and pleasantly surprised with the quality of cricketers that we’ve got in the team,” Henriques said. “There’s a lot of high-level cricketers going around, which I probably wasn’t expecting a few years ago when I first started entertaining the thought of playing.”

The veteran all-rounder will face one unusual challenge at the Finland qualifier: he has not played a competitive match on an artificial wicket in 25 years. Compounding that hurdle, he is just five months removed from back surgery, and navigating a full run-up on the synthetic surface while bowling will be his biggest physical test. “Obviously we train a lot indoors on synthetic wickets so hopefully I can make the adjustment,” he said.

Following the conclusion of the qualifier, Henriques will next join Glasgow Cosmic for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League as he continues his work growing the sport across the continent.

The opening day of the first Test between Australia and Bangladesh in Darwin delivered an unexpected storyline full of drama, controversy, and a stunning underdog performance, with a controversial technology decision and a career-best bowling display shaping the contest. After Australia captain won the toss and opted to bat first, Bangladesh’s bowlers turned in a relentless, clinical performance that left the fancied hosts reeling by the close of play.

The day’s biggest talking point emerged early in Steve Smith’s innings when Bangladesh pace bowler Ebadot Hossain delivered a ball that clipped the edge of Smith’s bat. Bangladesh immediately appealed for a caught-behind dismissal to on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who ruled the batter not out. The touring side quickly called for a review, and even Smith himself began walking toward the pavilion, convinced he had edged the delivery. But to the surprise of Ebadot and the Bangladesh squad, Snicko — the edge-detection technology used to review close catching appeals — showed a completely flat audio line as the ball passed the bat. The original not out ruling was upheld, gifting Smith a reprieve when he had scored just seven runs.

Speaking after the day’s play, Smith acknowledged the luck that came his way. “I think so, yeah. I was lucky? Yeah, it seems that way. You got to take it sometimes,” he told reporters. “Maybe I didn’t nick it. I don’t know. But I certainly felt something. If I’d been given out, I was going to walk off. But yeah, technology saved me today, I guess.”

Smith went on to capitalise on his second chance, compiling a solid 71 runs before he eventually holed out a catch off the bowling of Hasan Mahmud. Notably, this was not the only let-off Smith received on the day; he was also dropped twice by Bangladesh fielders, allowing him to add crucial runs to Australia’s total. Even with Smith’s contribution, however, the rest of Australia’s batting line-up crumbled under pressure from Bangladesh’s attack.

Mahmud, Bangladesh’s fast bowler, produced the performance of his career to date, taking a stunning six wickets for just 55 runs. His late wicket burst saw Australia collapse from 152-5 to 198 all out, losing their final five wickets for only 46 runs. It was a collapse that few predicted heading into the match, with Australia having never lost a home Test to Bangladesh, and only one loss across the six previous meetings between the sides (a 2017 defeat in Mirpur).

The controversy around Snicko is nothing new for cricket in Australia, with the technology already at the centre of multiple high-profile disputes during the 2025 Ashes series. In that series, Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey was reprieved after an error by the Snicko operator, while England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith was involved in two separate contentious decisions tied to the technology. Unlike those earlier incidents, which stemmed from misaligned audio and visual data, this week’s controversy came from the complete lack of an audio spike on Snicko’s readout, despite Smith acknowledging he felt contact on the ball.

By the close of play on day one, Bangladesh had responded strongly to Australia’s total, reaching 96 for the loss of one wicket. Opener Shadman Islam fell early to Mitchell Starc, edging a leading edge to the gully slip cordon, but batsmen Tanzid Hasan Tamim (32 not out) and Mominul Haque (35 not out) put on an unbroken 81-run partnership to steer the tourists to the close. At stumps, Bangladesh trails Australia by just 102 runs, with nine wickets in hand heading into day two of the five-day Test.

This opening match is the first of a two-Test series between the two sides, with Bangladesh sitting in a strong position to push for a historic first win on Australian soil after a dominant opening day of play.

Ahead of one of the most anticipated AFL matchups of the late season, Collingwood Magpies head coach Craig McRae has delivered a much-needed dose of positive news for the club’s fans: veteran star Scott Pendlebury and dynamic playmaker Jordan De Goey will both take the field against Hawthorn this Saturday. The announcement comes at a critical time for the Magpies, who have been decimated by a crippling injury wave that has sidelined several of their top players through the closing rounds of the campaign. High-profile names including captain Darcy Moore, Patrick Lipinski, Jeremy Howe, Brayden Maynard, Harry Perryman and Jamie Elliot all currently sit on the sidelines, leaving the club’s depth severely tested heading into the blockbuster clash. The return of the two experienced midfielders marks a substantial boost to a squad that has been forced to dig into its reserves in recent weeks. Pendlebury, a 440-game club icon, was forced to miss Collingwood’s away trip to Perth last round while managing a persistent calf complaint. Off the field, the veteran has been the subject of widespread speculation in recent days: the 2027 contract is still unsigned, and multiple rival clubs have been linked to a potential move for the champion midfielder, coming just days after fellow Collingwood legend Steele Sidebottom announced his retirement after an 18-year storied career with the club. Speaking to media this week, McRae made clear the club has no intention of rushing Pendlebury into a decision about his future, confirming the veteran will be given all the time he needs to make a call by the end of the season. Addressing recent reports suggesting Pendlebury intends to continue his playing career beyond this season, McRae noted that while he had not personally confirmed those reports, the widespread interest from other clubs comes as no surprise given the midfielder’s ongoing impact both on and off the field. “We’ve had Pendles as a core part of our group for the best part of a decade, and the value he brings to our club environment is incredible,” McRae said. “It makes total sense that other teams would see that same value. All the speculation right now is just around what he could bring to any playing group – the culture he builds, the leadership he provides, the way he mentors younger players. That’s a rare quality.” McRae, who has worked closely with Pendlebury since taking over as head coach in 2022, highlighted the midfielder’s unmatched impact on the club’s emerging talent, adding that his support for young players has become one of his most important contributions to the Magpies’ program in recent seasons.