Moises Henriques says helping Portugal qualify for their first men's T20 World Cup would be cricket "nirvana" at the twilight of his playing career. The 39-year-old, who played for Australia between 2009 and 2021, has switched allegiance to Portugal, his birth country, and will captain the team in a European sub-regional qualifier in Finland starting Friday.

Henriques was born in Madeira but moved to Australia aged two. He jokes he "might get a helicopter pad" named after him if Portugal qualify, referencing Cristiano Ronaldo's airport naming. Portugal, ranked 37th, must win Group B (including Germany and Israel) then a final qualifier against Scotland, Jersey and Denmark.

Henriques is impressed by the squad's quality, including Cameron Shekleton (South Africa first-class) and Craig Cachopa (former NZ U19 captain). He faces a challenge: playing on artificial pitches for the first time in 25 years, while recovering from back surgery five months ago. "The biggest challenge will be landing on a synthetic wicket coming off a full run-up," he says.

Hoping to replicate Italy's path to their maiden World Cup earlier this year, Henriques says: "The nirvana would be to replicate what Italy have done." He feels representing "the motherland" will be special and aims to grow cricket in Portugal and Europe.