Today the Japan Cricket Association is pleased to announce the 15 players who will represent Japan at the Under 19 Cricket World Cup.

The team will be led by Marcus Thurgate with Neel Date appointed as Vice-Captain.

Thurgate said: “It means a lot to be the first captain of a Japan team to participate in a global cricket event. It comes with a lot of pressure to show the world what we are capable of, but also excitement for our new era!”

The full list of players is below:

• Max Clements (Chiba Sharks Cricket Club)
• Tushar Chaturvedi (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Neel Date (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Kento Ota-Dobell (Brown Hill Cricket Club)
• Ishaan Fartyal (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Sora Ichiki (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
• Leon Mehlig (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Masato Morita (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
• Shu Noguchi (Sano Braves)
• Yugandhar Retharekar (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Debashish Sahoo (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Reiji Suto (Sano Braves)
• Kazumasa Takahashi (Sano Braves)
• Ashley Thurgate (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)
• Marcus Thurgate (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club) – Captain

The following fixtures have been confirmed:

• January 13th – vs Scotland (Warm Up)
• January 15th – vs United Arab Emirates (Warm Up)
• January 18th – vs New Zealand (World Cup Group A)
• January 21st – vs India World Cup Group A)
• January 25th – vs Sri Lanka (World Cup Group A)

Following these matches the team will play three more matches to determine final positions, with the World Cup Final scheduled for Sunday 9th February.

We wish the players the best of luck and hope that they will be cheered on by all our supporters in Japan and around the world.

Good Luck!