Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques played a knock of 111 off just 51 balls against Czechia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Europe Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Finland on Thursday.
Henriques’ blistering knock, which contained 12 fours and seven sixes, came at a strike rate of 217.64 and helped Portugal post 211/6 from their 20 overs. Rain then interrupted Czechia’s chase, with their target revised to 116 from 8.5 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. Czechia managed only 24/5 in those 8.5 overs as Portugal secured a 91-run victory.
Henriques was eventually named the Player of the Match for his heroics with the bat.
The century was Henriques’ first in T20 internationals and his fourth appearance for Portugal. He had made an immediate impact on his international return, scoring an unbeaten 66 from 39 balls against Israel in Portugal’s opening match of the tournament. That knock helped Portugal win by 94 runs.
Why did Moises Henriques switch allegiance to Portugal?
Henriques’ connection with Portugal goes back to his birthplace. He was born in Funchal, located on the Portuguese island of Madeira, before moving to Australia as a child. He subsequently developed his cricket career in Australia, signing his first New South Wales contract at 17 and making his first-class debut for the state in 2006.
That Portuguese birthplace eventually provided the basis for his eligibility to represent the country internationally. After ending his Australian domestic career in July 2026, Henriques took up the opportunity to play for Portugal and was appointed captain for their campaign to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2028.
Henriques recently said that his aim was to take Portugal to the T20 World Cup 2028, citing Italy, which played in its first-ever T20 World Cup earlier this year. “Obviously, the ideal, the nirvana, would be to replicate what Italy have done,” Henriques said on the BBC Stumped podcast last week.
“Whether that’s realistic for this World Cup, or the following, I don’t know. We’ll only be able to tell in a couple games. I’m sure there’s a lot of opposition that feel that they might be able to do something similar,” the 39-year-old added.
Moises Henriques’ Australia connection
Henriques had previously represented Australia 44 times across all three formats between 2009 and 2021. His international record comprised four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He made his ODI and T20I debuts for Australia in 2009 and later made his Test debut against India in Chennai in 2013.
His association with Australia began well before his senior international career. Henriques captained Australia’s Under-19 side at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Australia reached the semi-finals, while Henriques finished the tournament as its leading wicket-taker with 16 wickets and also scored 150 runs.
Henriques also enjoyed a long and successful domestic career. He retired in July 2026 as the most-capped player in Australian domestic cricket history, having made 420 appearances for NSW and the Sydney Sixers across formats.
He won 14 major trophies with Cricket NSW teams and the Sydney Sixers, with whom he played all 15 seasons of the Big Bash League.