ACT Meteors all-rounder Annie Wikman is set to swap the ACT royal blue for a different shade of blue as she prepares to represent Italy in the upcoming T20 World Cup Europe Qualifiers.
Currently in Europe, Wikman is combining a bit of travel with the exciting opportunity. Thanks to her recently acquired dual citizenship, she has been selected to join the Italian national team, marking a unique chapter in her cricketing journey.
“It all started as a bit of a joke at a family gathering,” Wikman told Cricket ACT. “Someone said, ‘You’re doing well in cricket, you could represent Italy!’ And it just snowballed from there.”
Her family’s discovery of their Italian heritage a few years ago opened the door for the Queensland-born Wikman to explore the possibility. From there, she was connected to the Italian Cricket Federation and was soon invited to join the squad.
“There wasn’t really an official selection process,” she explained. “It was a few emails, a few phone calls, a lot of broken English and Italian… and somehow, I just jumped on a plane and hoped it would all work out!”
Annie will be joined by fellow Australian cricketer Chloe Piparo from Western Australia. The team will assemble in Rome before heading into a training camp ahead of the tournament, which kicks off on May 25.
Italy will face off against teams including Jersey, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Isle of Man.
“I don’t know any of my teammates yet—apart from Chloe,” Annie admitted. “But I met the President of the Federation in Rome last week, and that was my first real interaction. It’s all very left field, but I’m excited.”
While she’s hoping to contribute primarily with the bat, Annie is keeping an open mind.
“I told them I can bowl if they need me to roll the arm over,” she said. “But I’ll probably be mostly batting, and maybe a bit of specialist fielding too!”
The top two teams will advance to the Division One Qualifiers in the Netherlands in August, with a chance to secure a spot in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will expand to 16 teams.
“Everyone’s pretty confident we can finish top two and move on to the next stage,” Wikman said. “Getting to a World Cup would be the dream.”
Although she’s been enjoying some downtime since the end of the 2024/25 Women’s National Cricket League, including a stint on the Camino trail in Spain, she is ready to switch back into cricket mode.
“I’ve always been someone who separates cricket from the rest of my life,” she said.
“It helps me come back refreshed and excited for the season, rather than feeling like a hamster on a wheel.”
As for her Italian language skills?
“Let’s just say Duolingo is working overtime,” she joked. “Hopefully it’ll be a lot better when I come back!”
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All matches will be live-streamed at ICC.tv