Greece has launched an unexpected push to seal a spot at the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup, turning to its large diaspora community in Australia to bolster its national cricket squad for the first qualifying round this summer. The Hellenic Cricket Federation has named 24-year-old Billy Konstas – the older brother of rising Australian men’s Test batter Sam Konstas – to its 14-man roster for the European sub-regional Qualifier C, set to run from August 14 to 21 in Finland.
Billy Konstas, who is four years senior to 19-year-old Sam who made headlines for his memorable 2024 Boxing Day Test debut against India with three sensational ramp shots off Indian pace ace Jasprit Bumrah in a single over, splits his time between playing grade cricket in Sydney and working as a physiotherapist and cricket coach. He is not the only Australian-raised player of Greek descent to earn a call-up: 21-year-old leg-spin all-rounder Blake Faunce, a former age-group representative player for the Australian Capital Territory, has also been included in the squad.
Federation officials have also held selection discussions with 26-year-old Blake Nikitaras, a first-class cricketer for New South Wales and former Big Bash League player with Sydney Thunder, whose father Steve previously represented Greece’s national team at the end of his professional playing career. Another high-profile target, 27-year-old short-format franchise veteran Peter Hatzoglou – who boasts stints in elite T20 competitions including the Big Bash, England’s The Hundred, and the Pakistan Super League – has also held talks, but he currently does not meet international eligibility requirements for selection. At this stage, neither Nikitaras nor Hatzoglou are expected to be available for the upcoming qualifier, but if Greece advances past the 10-team tournament, the pair could enter consideration for future rounds.
Greece’s strategy of drawing on its Australian diaspora, which numbers more than 400,000 people of Greek ancestry across the country, has drawn inevitable comparisons to Italy’s 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. Italy made its maiden World Cup appearance earlier this year after advancing through regional qualifying, with an entire squad of players born outside the country including five Australian-Italian players – among them two sets of brothers. However, senior Greek federation leaders emphasized to BBC Sport that they are prioritizing the long-term development of homegrown talent, rather than relying entirely on overseas-based players of Greek heritage.
Cricket has been played on the Greek island of Corfu, the historic heart of the country’s domestic cricket scene, for more than 200 years, and building a clear development pathway for local players remains a core organizational priority. Around two-thirds of the squad heading to Finland, led by head coach Tim Dellor, were born in Greece, with two additional players based in the UK – Dimitrios Triandafillithis and Christodoulos Bogdanos, who both compete in club cricket in Yorkshire.
Greece has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1995, but the side has not played enough sanctioned matches in recent years to earn an official ICC T20 global ranking. Their path past the first qualifying hurdle is far from guaranteed: they have been drawn in a group alongside tournament favorites Germany, and will also face a Portugal side boosted by veteran former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques, who was born in the Portuguese autonomous region of Madeira. Portugal is also expected to add opening batter Ricardo Vasconcelos to its roster, pending his domestic commitments with English county side Northamptonshire.