Ex-Aussie allrounder Henriques turns Portugal hero with blistering century

Moises Henriques' international career with Australia may be over, but the 39-year-old all-rounder has quickly found a new challenge — leading his birthplace Portugal in their bid to reach the 2028 T20 World Cup.

Henriques marked the start of that campaign in style, smashing his maiden international T20 century against Czechia in Finland on Thursday (August 20). He struck 111 off just 51 balls as Portugal posted 211 for six before rain brought the chase to an early end.

Czechia were reduced to 24 for five in 8.5 overs before play was abandoned, giving Portugal a 91-run victory under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Born in Madeira, Portugal, Henriques moved to Australia with his family as a child and built his cricket career there. He represented Australia in four Tests, 16 ODIs and 24 T20Is, making 44 international appearances in total. His last international appearance for Australia came five years ago.

He announced his retirement from Australian domestic cricket last month, with a clear goal of helping Portugal qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup.

So far, the move has paid off. Henriques has played three matches in Portugal's four-game winning run in the European Sub-Regional Qualifier C, scoring 178 runs. He began his Portugal career with an unbeaten 66 against Israel, becoming only the fifth player to score a T20I half-century for two different countries.

His 111 against Czechia made him the tournament's leading run-scorer and also gave Portugal a commanding start to their qualification campaign.

Henriques' highest score for Australia in T20Is was an unbeaten 62. Before him, Mark Chapman, Tim David, Corey Anderson and Nitish Kumar had also scored T20I half-centuries for two countries.

Portugal's place in the next round, however, is not yet secure. They face group leaders Spain on Friday, with the winner advancing to the European Regional Final alongside Scotland, Jersey and Denmark.

For Henriques, the target is clear: after ending his Australian career just a month ago, he is now trying to take his country of birth to a World Cup.