Moises Henriques to captain Portugal in T20 World Cup qualifier

Moises Henriques has played four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Australia. But this week, the 39-year-old veteran allrounder will captain Portugal as they attempt to qualify for the T20 World Cup for the first time.

Henriques was born in Madeira, the Portuguese island to the west of Morocco, which is also the birthplace of the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. His family relocated to Australia when he was a young child and he enjoyed a long professional career with New South Wales and the Sydney Sixers. Additionally, he has earned 44 international caps, the most recent five years ago.

He announced last month that he was retiring from Australian domestic cricket but will continue to play overseas. Henriques has signed a contract with Glasgow Cosmic for the inaugural European T20 Premier League season. On Monday, he was named captain for Portugal's T20 World Cup qualifying tournament in Finland.

Portugal sit 37th in the ICC's men's T20I rankings and will face Israel, Germany, Greece and Czechia in Group B of the T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C between August 14 and 20. The group winner will then play the winner of Group A in the final on August 21.

In order to qualify for the T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2028, the top two teams from the European regional final will join Scotland, Jersey, and Denmark in the overall winner of the qualifier.

Portugal's squad also includes Craig Cachopa, the former Sussex, Auckland and Wellington keeper-batter; Cameron Shekleton, who has played for South Africa A; Sebastian de Oliveira, who once played a List A game for Gauteng alongside Ryan Rickelton; and Siraj Ullah Khadem, the Bangladesh-born spinner who was part of the longlist for the Hundred auction this year.

Henriques takes over from Carlos Nunes, who captains Twickenham in the Middlesex County Cricket League in England. Nunes remains part of the 14-man squad.

Portugal squad: Moises Henriques (c), Craig Cachopa, Edward Fleming, Christopher de Freitas, Rahulkumar Hashu, Siraj Ullah Khadem, Hardeep Khuttan, Jeremy Martins, Dhavalkumar Norotam (wk), Jordan Netto, Carlos Nunes, Sebastian de Oliveira, Upen Shantu, Cameron Shekleton