Former Fastest ODI World Cup Centurion Appointed Italy's T20 Coach

Former Canada captain John Davison, who also played a good amount of domestic cricket in Australia, has been appointed Italy's T20 coach as they try to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Italy will feature in the European Regional Finals of the T20 World Cup qualifying pathway in the Netherlands from June. They will feature in the tournament alongside the Netherlands, Scotland, Guernsey and Jersey, with the top-two teams qualifying for the T20 World Cup.

Davison came into the limelight during the 2003 World Cup, where he smoked a 67-ball century against the West Indies - the then fastest in the tournament’s history. Overall, the right-handed batter scored close to 850 runs in 37 white-ball fixtures for Canada, including one century and five fifties.

"I am excited and honoured to be appointed head coach of the Italian T20 men's program. I didn't take much convincing once I heard about the players and people involved,” said Davison.

"I have experienced the thrill of qualifying for World Cups as a player for Canada, and I look forward to repeating that thrill with a diverse and dedicated group of players and staff representing Italy."

After announcing his retirement, Davison worked in Australia as a spin consultant and has worked closely with Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson and Matt Kuhnemann.

Here in Italy, Davison will work alongside skipper Joe Burns, who played 23 Tests for Australia before moving to Italy last year.