Following the signing of a partnership with Sri Lanka Cricket in March, the JCA welcomed Sri Lanka Cricket President, Mr. Shammi Silva, and Acting Secretary Mr. Chryshantha Kapuwatte to Japan in April.

Mr. Silva and Mr. Kapuwatte visited the Sano International Cricket Ground and discussed partnership initiatives with the JCA after a tour of the facilities.

The parties agreed on plans to send a coach and a curator from Sri Lanka to Japan, to send Sri Lankan players to Japan for the Women’s Japan Premier League, and to send Japanese players to Sri Lanka this year. They also had fruitful discussions on the status and future of Cricket in Japan.

The President and Acting Secretary visited Sano City Hall and met with the Mayor, Mr. Yutaka Kaneko with whom they discussed corporation in developing Cricket in Sano.

In a visit to Tokyo, they were joined by Deputy Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Kotaro Katsuki to visit the Parliamentary League for Cricket Promotion. They met with the President Mr. Toshimitsu Motegi, the Secretary-General Mr. Hiroshi Kajimaya, the Chief Secretary Mr. Shinji Inoue of the League and discussed the development of Cricket in Japan and enhancing friendly relations between the two countries.

Sri Lanka Cricket and JCA officials also attended the reception for the Freedom Day of South Africa. The JCA had also formed a partnership with Titans Cricket in South Africa last year and the three parties joined in celebrating Freedom Day.

We would like to thank Mr. Silva, Mr. Kapuwatte and the many people who helped welcome them to Japan. We would also like to thank Mr. Priyantha Kariyapperuma, Goodwill Ambassador of Japanese Cricket for his assistance in making this visit possible.

Big Bash League star batter Josh Brown is one of 17 players from overseas participating in the ninth edition of the Japan Premier League. 

Brown, who made his name with a 57-ball 140 in the BBL semi final earlier this year, will join the Kansai Chargers in a big boost for a team who has never finished higher than fourth since becoming the fifth team in the tournament in 2020. 

Other names include Japan Captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Futures League starlet Charlie Hinze along with many other established Japanese international players, all of whom will be hoping to wrestle the tournament MVP award away from Sabaorish Ravichandran who has worn the crown in four of the last five editions. 

The tournament, which starts on Friday 3rd May at the Sano International Cricket Ground, will feature the four Kanto teams (North, South, East and West) plus Kansai playing each other before a final and 3rd place play-off. 

Defending Champions West Kanto Hurricanes will be aiming to make it three wins in four years in what is becoming a golden period for them while East Kanto Sunrisers will be looking to extend their record of four successive finals since the event changed format. 

The Japan Premier League teams are made up of the best players from each of the Japan Cup T20 teams in their respective regions. Plenty of Japan national squad players feature in each squad as well as star players from several different countries. 

All on SICG One will be live streamed on the JCA YouTube Channel with highlights going up at the end of each day as well, while you can follow the scores live either on the Japan Cricket App or our match centre.

Nikhil Pol put on a series of outstanding individual performances to lead the Gorillas to their second successive Futures League title, claiming the tournament MVP award along the way.

He was player of the match in the Final as his two for 26 alongside three for 27 from fellow all rounder Declan Suzuki-McComb helped restrict the Vipers to 128 for seven after 20 overs.

The Vipers, playing their first final, came in unbeaten were indebted to Dylan Fujioka-Fletcher for his 36-ball 53 which helped them recover from 37 for four.

Pol then led the way with the bat, making 46 from 50 balls before being caught and bowled by his opposite captain Charlie Hinze, a which moved the left-arm spinner past Pol at the top of the wicket-taker charts to a Futures League record of 10 wickets.

The middle order had enough to see the Gorillas home, giving Coach Vinay Iyer a much cherished tournament win as the total was passed with seven balls and four wickets to spare.

Pol had also come to the fore in the morning match, scoring a maiden Futures League half-century as they defeated the Dragons by nine runs despite a battling 31 from Max Yonekawa-Lynn.

For the third year running that meant the Dragons would enter the third-place playoff without a win to their name, and they would make it a hat-trick of third place finishes as they put previous struggles behind them to to beat the Turtles by 26 runs thanks to wickets and runs from Shotaro Hiratsuka.

That defeat ended a tough day for the Turtles who had started the tournament well only to get bowled put for 70 when attempting to chase 93 against the Vipers in order to earn a place in the final. Three for seven from Charlie Hinze was key to the 22-run victory that kept up the Vipers 100% record, until Pol intervened.

Match Summaries: 

• Gorillas, 118/7 (Pol 58), beat Dragons, 109/10 (Yonekawa-Lynn 31, Khan 25) by 9 runs.
• Vipers, 92/9 (Thurgate 3/17), beat Turtles, 70/10 (C. Hinze 3/7) by 22 runs.

Third-Place:

• Dragons, 125/7 (S. Hiratsuka 30, Noguchi 25), beat Turtles, 99/9 (Rear 24) b7 26 runs.

Final:

• Gorillas, 129/6 (Pol 46), beat Vipers 128/7 (Fujioka-Fletcher 53, Suzuki-McComb 3/27) by four wickets.

Highlights: 

• Turtles vs Vipers
• Vipers vs Gorillas

Awards:

• Best Batter: Nikhil Pol (148 runs @ 37)
• Best Bowler: Charlie Hinze (10 wickets @ 4.06 economy)
• MVP: Nikhil Pol (148 runs & 9 wickets)

Seika Sumi scored an astonishing 59 runs and took two wickets to lead the Pelicans to their first win in the J-BASH All-Stars series, earning the Player of the Match award for an excellent all-round display.

After winning the toss and choosing the bat, the Pandas hoped for big runs at the top of the order, but Ayumi Fujikawa had other ideas. With a new ball in hand, she restricted the batters to only three runs off her first over, leaving the batter’s itching for a run. With the pressure building, a miscommunication allowed the Pelicans to dismiss Yurika Kitamura in the third over. 

However, the Pandas took control as Kurumi Ota (57) compiled an excellent half century, including seven boundaries, in a well deserved partnership of 86 runs from 11.2 overs with Hinase Goto, who was later caught after drinks for 41. 

Returning after a year-long break from bowling, Sumi was unstoppable, dismissing both set batters, and eventually restricted the Panda’s to 134 for six from their 20 overs.

Sumi then decided she was going to lead the Pelicans to victory by with clean striking at the top of the order, her 59 coming from just 50 balls, keeping the Pandas on edge with her ability to pick out the gaps as she hit nine boundaries.  

The Pandas fought hard and took three wickets in a 26-ball spell that kept the game alive, but ultimately Akari Nishimura and Ayumi Fujikawa closed the innings chasing down the remaining two runs in the final over. 

The J-Bash All Stars have permanently relocated to the Sano International Cricket Ground for 2024 as the Pandas and Pelicans continue to clash head to head. 

Sabaorish Ravichandran showed he is a man for all formats by dominating the Japan Cricket League T10 Finals Day as Tigers earned their latest piece of silverware. 

Already holders of the JCL 40-over title and Japan Cup from 2022 and 2023, they bounced back from a group stage exit in the T10 last year to vanquish reigning champions Men in Blue in a one-sided final.

Ravichandran starred with bat and ball throughout. His 216 runs from five matches at a strike rate of almost 250 was 91 runs more than the second highest run scorer, while his economy rate of 5.67 was the best of anyone who played more than two matches. 

He saved his best for the Finals Day, firstly taking three wickets for five runs to completely unravel the Tokyo Falcons in a seven-wicket semi-final win, completed with 17-balls to spare, before shining with the bat in the final. 

His scintillating 86* from 31 balls against Men in Blue was the highest score of the 2024 tournament and took Tigers to a total of 140 for four, which looked virtually unreachable. 

So it proved, and at last it was someone else’s turn to shine as Sanath Acharya took the best figures so far in the two seasons of the T10, with four wickets for just two runs ending the contest. 

Finishing 58 for eight meant an enormous 82 run win for the Tigers, and the celebrations did not look like a team tired of winning. 

Men in Blue walked away proud of their efforts in reaching a second final, courtesy of a Vishal Patel inspired semi-final win by seven wickets over Kawasaki Knight Riders, who fell at the last four stage for the second year in a row. 

The tournament was moved from July/August to March/April this year which led to an increase of teams from eight to ten. All matches were live streamed from SICG One and highlights provided for every match on the JCA YouTube Channel. 

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Club 360, the Tokyo-based provider of fitness, health, rehabilitation, and wellness services. 

With two locations in central Tokyo (Roppongi and Higashi-Azabu), Club 360 can cater to a significant amount of the Japanese cricket community by offering a 20% discount on initial physio consultations, and 10% off class packages. 

Members of the Japan National Squads and Academies will also be eligible for further discounts while Club 360 Co-Founder Sam Gilbert is also keen to create videos to assist with injury prevention and training techniques to help the community. 

Following his involvement at the 2023 Embassy Cup, Gilbert said: “I never thought I’d see cricket played at this level and on this stage in Japan. I am really looking forward to partnering with the JCA and helping their athletes progress.”

Head of Cricket Operations at Japan Cricket, Alan Curr, is equally enthusiastic about the partnership: “This is exactly the kind of thing we need. In recent times we have built our team of medical support staff up well, but what Sam and his team can bring is an understanding of common cricket specific injuries and, not just how to treat them, but how to prevent them.”

Keep an eye on the Japan Cricket Association and Club 360 Social Media sites for further details on how to take advantage of the partnership.