Jade Dernbach, former England pacer, set to represent Italy in T20 World Cup qualifiers
Once described as a “special bowling talent, capable of both conventional and reverse swing” by Derek Pringle, Jade Dernbach is all set to represent Italy in the T20 World Cup qualifiers that begin midway through October in Spain. Italy announced their squad for the qualifiers and the 35-year-old was included in the team.
Jade Dernbach announced his international retirement in 2019.
Dernbach isn’t the only English cricketer to earn a call-up in this Italian contingent. Former Northamptonshire cricketer Gareth Berg will be captaining and coaching the Italian side and it is said that Berg was the one who persuaded Dernbach to resume his international career with Italy. Born in South Africa, Jade Dernbach qualifies to play for Italy through his mother, who is an Italian.
Dernbach has been struggling to find opportunities lately in County Cricket and is set to leave Surrey at the end of this county season. He has been with Surrey for over a decade and a half, since representing their side for the first time as a talented teenager back in 2016.
Italy will be facing Germany, Jersey and Denmark in a bid to win a place in the global qualifiers of the 2022 T20 World Cup hosted by the Australians. Italy reached October’s qualifier – which forms part of the pathway for the 2022 T20 World Cup – by virtue of their T20I ranking, after the sub-qualifier events were canceled by the ICC due to Covid-19.
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58 English caps for Jade Dernbach over the years
The fast bowler was called up in the 2011 World Cup as a replacement for Ajmal Shahzad, but didn’t make his debut as England were knocked out soon by the eventual finalists, Sri Lanka. He made his debut later against Sri Lanka in a T20I game and his ODI debut followed soon. He had an impressive start to his career in both formats, but he struggled to keep up the consistency in the coming years.
He made his last T20 appearance against Sri Lanka in 2014 and announced his retirement five years later. Meanwhile, he represented Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League and Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Super League, but failed to muster meaningful contributions. He will be desperate to get back into the limelight with some positive performances for the Italian side in the qualifiers.