Greece’s decision to tap into its sizeable Australian diaspora (more than 400,000 people in the country have Greek ancestry) will inevitably draw some comparisons with Italy.

The Azzurri participated in their first T20 World Cup earlier this year after making it through sub-regional qualification.

None of the Italian team in that tournament was born in the country, and they chose five Australian-Italians, including two sets of brothers: the Manentis and Moscas.

However, senior figures involved in the Greek federation told BBC Sport they will exercise a degree of caution over the ongoing integration of Australian players of Greek descent like Konstas.

Greece’s cricket scene is largely centered around the island of Corfu, where the sport has been played for over two centuries and developing local talent with a pathway to the national team is seen as a high priority.

Around two-thirds of coach Tim Dellor’s squad for the European qualifier in Finland were born in Greece.

Their group also includes a couple of UK-based players, Dimitrios Triandafillithis and Christodoulos Bogdanos, who play club cricket in Yorkshire.

Greece’s attempts to clear the first hurdle of qualifying for the T20 World Cup will not be easy as they have been drawn into a group with favorites Germany.

Also in their group is Portugal, who will be reinforced by the presence of veteran former Australian all-rounder Moisés Henriques, born in Madeira.

BBC Sport understands Portugal could also turn to opening batsman Ricardo Vasconcelos, depending on his commitments to Northamptonshire.