Former Australian all-rounder Moises Henriques, who was eligible to represent Portugal by virtue of his birthplace, made his mark in only his third appearance for his birth country, scoring a sensational maiden century against the Czech Republic at the Tikkurila Cricket Ground in Vantaa on Thursday.
Batting at No. 3, the 39-year-old Henriques smashed 111 off just 51 balls, including 12 fours and 7 sixes. Interestingly, this was his first international century, and his knock helped Portugal reach the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Europe Qualifier C, as they defeated the Czech Republic by 91 runs via the DLS method.
Portugal will take on Spain in the summit clash on Friday, with the winner progressing to the regional qualifier, where they will join the winners of Sub-Regional Qualifiers A and B, along with Scotland, who featured in the previous T20 World Cup.
Earlier, Moises Henriques announced his arrival in the Portugal setup in style, scoring an unbeaten 66* against Israel in his first game for the country. His knock helped Portugal secure a dominant 94-run victory. However, his second outing with the bat did not go according to plan, as he managed just one run against Germany. Portugal, though, held their nerve to secure a close four-wicket victory in the final over.
With four wins in as many games, Portugal topped the Group B standings with eight points and will face Spain in Friday’s final for a place in the regional qualifier.
Henriques made his T20I debut for Australia in 2009 against New Zealand and went on to play 24 T20Is for Australia, scoring 355 runs, with his top score of 62* coming against India at Guwahati in 2017.
