Japan Overpowered By Resurgent PNG

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The Women’s Japan National Team were second best in all departments to a Papua New Guinea team that have responded powerfully to their surprise opening day defeat in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier 2023.

After winning the toss and choosing the bat, Japan were in trouble from the start as form batter Erika Oda fell without scoring. Haruna Iwasaki struck two boundaries early on and looked to be finding some form, but her run-out severely damaged the hopes and aspirations of the team.

Suddenly, Japan were five wickets down for just 28 runs, but a partnership of 33 between Kurumi Ota (20*) and Hinase Goto (9) showed fight after the troubles of the first ten overs. Ultimately, Japan would finish on 63 for seven, which was never likely to be enough against a team ranked 11th in the world, a huge 44 places higher than Japan.

Ahilya Chandel was able to land a solitary blow with the ball as PNG raced to the target in the ninth over, with nine wickets to spare, which gave their net run rate enough of a boost to leapfrog Japan in the table.

Elsewhere, Indonesia, after arriving three days late due to travel delays, have made a flying start with three big wins and now tops the table ahead of hosts Vanuatu, who have also won all their matches so far. PNG and Japan also have six points, but Japan now sits fourth on net run rate, while Fiji have recorded one win and Samoa and Cook Islands have each lost all four matches they have played.

Wednesday 6th will be a rest day, and on Thursday Japan will take on Indonesia in a morning game before finishing against hosts Vanuatu on Friday afternoon.

Make sure you are following all the JCA Social Media Channels for additional content and reports.

Match Schedule (Japan Time):

  • Friday 1 September – Cook Islands vs Japan, 07:30
  • Saturday 2 September – Japan vs Samoa, 11:30
  • Monday 4 September – Fiji vs Japan, 11:30
  • Tuesday 5 September – Papua New Guinea vs Japan, 07:30
  • Thursday 7 September – Indonesia vs Japan, 07:30
  • Friday 8 September – Vanuatu vs Japan, 11:30

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

Yasumoto Wickets Inspire Victory Over Fiji

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The Women’s Japan National Team put in a complete performance to continue their perfect start to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier 2023, beating Fiji by eight wickets in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Japan lost the toss and for the first time in the competition were bowling first. Nonoha Yasumoto has performed with admirable consistency in the competition so far and today got big rewards with career best figures of four for 11 from her four overs. Three of those wickets were clean bowled, including her first in just the second over of the match.

Japan were made to wait for their second breakthrough as Ruci Muriyalo dug in to make 36 from 55 balls and keep her team afloat. Her partnership of 30 for the second wicket with Ilisapeci Waqavakatoga (19) was the highlight of the contest for the Fijians, but Erika Toguchi-Quinn broke through to open the door for Japan.

Toguchi-Quinn has quickly established herself as an integral part of the Japan attack and put in a best performance to date, mesmerising the batters on her way to figures of two wickets for seven runs across four overs. It was that pressure that led to wickets falling at the other end, Yasumoto returning to the attack to wreak havoc at the end of the innings, taking three wickets in five balls to end any hopes of a challenging score being set.

FIji’s eventual total of 75 for seven from their 20 overs did not look like a winning score, especially with form player Erika Oda around. Japan’s batting superstar made light work of the total, scoring a run-a-ball 31 not out with partnerships of 29 with Haruna Iwasaki (14), and 36* with Ahilya Chandel 14*) as Japan passed the score with 6.3 overs still remaining.

Oda now has 125 runs for the tournament, while Yasumoto is comfortably the most economical, going at just 2.91 runs per over in the three matches so far.

Japan are top of the table at the halfway mark and will face their toughest test to date as they clash with pre-tournament favourites Papua New Guinea, who have recorded two big victories since their surprise defeat on the opening day. The match will begin at 07:30 Japan time and can be watched live on ICC.tv

Match Schedule (Japan Time):

  • Friday 1 September – Cook Islands vs Japan, 07:30
  • Saturday 2 September – Japan vs Samoa, 11:30
  • Monday 4 September – Fiji vs Japan, 11:30
  • Tuesday 5 September – Papua New Guinea vs Japan, 07:30
  • Thursday 7 September – Indonesia vs Japan, 07:30
  • Friday 8 September – Vanuatu vs Japan, 11:30

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

Men’s Japan Under 19s to Compete in Asia Cup Qualifier

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The Men’s Japan Under 19 team will be the first Japanese National Team to participate in an Asia Cricket Council event since the Men’s ACC Trophy in 2000*, when they travel to Malaysia this October for the ACC Men’s Under 19 Premier Cup.

The tournament will feature 16 teams in four groups of four. The top team from each group will contest the semi-finals, with the top three finishers qualifying for the 2023 Asia Cup.

Japan Under 19s, who have never competed in an ACC event before, will enter the competition as 12th seed and have been drawn in a group alongside Hong Kong (seeded 4th), Malaysia (5th) and Indonesia (13th).

This tournament is the second outing for the Men’s Japan Under 19 team this year, following their strong showing at the recent Under 19 World Cup Qualifier where they finished second out of seven teams, losing only to New Zealand.

The final team of 14 players selected for the tournament will be announced in mid-September.

*The JCA was a member of the ACC until 2000, at which time it became a member of the East Asia Pacific (EAP) region as classified by the International Cricket Council (ICC). 

At that time it was not an option for us, as a member of the EAP region, to remain an ACC member as well. That has now changed. 

The JCA submitted an application for membership at the end of 2022, and although the ACC has not yet formally approved the membership, the Japan National Teams have been invited to participate in ACC competitions from 2023. 

Throughout 2023 there have been men’s and boys Under 16 ACC tournaments, but it was not possible for Japan to participate in either of those due to scheduling.

Japan Maintain Perfect Start as Oda Shines vs Samoa

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The Women’s Japan National Team won their second match in a row at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier 2023, beating Samoa for the first time in nine years.

The win was once again led by Erika Oda at the top of the order, who shared a 63-run partnership with Akari Nishimura in just 43 balls, before being calamitously run out for 46; yet another score in the 40s. Along the way she struck seven boundaries, four coming in a row, in a 28-ball innings that got Japan off to an absolute flyer. 

Ahilya Chandel then combined with captain Mai Yanagida in an unbroken stand of 73 from 57 balls, making a career-best 28* while Yanagida made her best score in five years finishing 36* as the team finished on an imposing 152 for three.

Samoa had a great start of their own as Via Andrew (19) and Ailaoa Aoina (34) put on 67 for the first wicket. Leg-spinner Erika Toguchi-Quinn broke that partnership in the 11th over, her first international wicket, and suddenly Japan roared back into the contest taking three wickets for no runs at all in the space of five deliveries with run-outs accounting for two of them. 

Nonoha Yasumoto continued her good start to the tournament with another wicket as well as a catch and run out, while Toguchi-Quinn ended with figures of two for 23 as Samoa were eventually restricted to 104 for eight from their 20 overs, meaning a win by 48 runs for Japan.

Coach Dean Ruhode was buzzing after the game: “It’s always great to beat a team ranked higher than you and getting on a roll with two wins in a row is only going to give the players more confidence. I believe in them, lots of people back home believe in them, and now they can genuinely start believing in themselves too.”

Sunday will be a rest day in the tournament and Japan will return to play Fiji on Monday at 11:30am Japan time. 

Match Schedule (Japan Time):

  • Friday 1 September – Cook Islands vs Japan, 07:30
  • Saturday 2 September – Japan vs Samoa, 11:30
  • Monday 4 September – Fiji vs Japan, 11:30
  • Tuesday 5 September – Papua New Guinea vs Japan, 07:30
  • Thursday 7 September – Indonesia vs Japan, 07:30
  • Friday 8 September – Vanuatu vs Japan, 11:30

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

Oda Inspires Japan to Victory in Tournament Opener vs Cook Islands

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Erika Oda inspired the Women’s Japan National Team to victory in the opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier 2023, beating Cook Islands by 30-runs.

Batting first, Oda and Ahilya Chandel helped Japan recover from losing two early wickets as their partnership of 69 in 55 deliveries game the team an excellent platform.

While Chandel was circumspect in her 20 from 27 deliveries, Oda struck seven boundaries on her way to a career-best 48, from just 44 deliveries, before becoming one of three victims for Marii Kaukura.

This was the third time in 11 months that Oda has passed 40, with that first international half-century inching ever closer.

Oda was later awarded with a Player of the Match Award

Her efforts put Japan in a position to reach 125 for six from their 20 overs, which would turn out to be the highest score of the day.

The Cook Islands have plenty of power in their batting line up and had boundary hitters all the way down, with seven of their players finding the rope.

Japan were wary during a fifth-wicket partnership of 35 between Sonnia Vaia (22) and Daena Kataina (17), but they fell in successive deliveries as Japan seized back control.

The fightback was down in no small part to the catching of Haruna Iwasaki, who took an outrageous catch over her shoulder while running backwards, and Japan showed safe hands throughout the game.

Chandel, Nonoha Yasumoto and Shimako Kato all picked up two wickets each as Japan restricted the Cook Islands to a final total of 95 for eight to earn a great start in the tournament.

Japan are next in action against Samoa on Saturday 2nd September. The contest will start at 11:30 JST and can be watched live on ICC.TV so please tune in and support!

Elsewhere in the competition, hosts Vanuatu stunned tournament favourites Papua New Guinea with a five-wicket win, while Fiji were too strong for Samoa, earning a win by 18 runs.

Match Schedule (Japan Time):

  • Friday 1 September – Cook Islands vs Japan, 07:30
  • Saturday 2 September – Japan vs Samoa, 11:30
  • Monday 4 September – Fiji vs Japan, 11:30
  • Tuesday 5 September – Papua New Guinea vs Japan, 07:30
  • Thursday 7 September – Indonesia vs Japan, 07:30
  • Friday 8 September – Vanuatu vs Japan, 11:30

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

Vanuatu Win Series 2-0

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The Women’s Japan National Team lost both matches of their two game series against hosts Vanuatu in Port Vila.

In match one, played on Monday 28th August, Vicky Mansale took three for 16 to bowl Japan out for just 65.

Ahilya Chandel was the only Japan player to make double figures, her 21 showing the others what was possible.

The chase was over quickly as Rachel Andrew struck 44 not out from just 37 balls to ease her team home with eight wickets and 8.3 overs to spare.

Match two was played in wet conditions and reduced to ten overs a side.

Bowling first, Japan kept Vanuatu to 61 for five, Valenta Langiatu the top scorer with 24.

Japan lost wickets regularly in the chase and ultimately finished on 46 for eight from their ten overs, only Akari Nishimura making double figures and Rachel Andrew taking three wickets as her side won by 15 runs.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier will start on Friday with Japan up against the Cook Islands.

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

Men in Blue wins the inaugural JCL T10

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The Men In Blue won the inaugural JCL T10 tournament beating the Tokyo Rangers in the final. After previously claiming the JCL Division Two and Three titles, this was Men in Blue’s biggest trophy yet.

The JCL T10 tournament featured eight teams who played each other once in a Round-Robin format. Following the completion of the group stage, six teams; Men in Blue, Tokyo Rangers, Tokyo Falcons, Kawasaki Knight Riders, Tokyo Titans, and the Tigers competed on finals day with the opportunity to win it all. 

Kawasaki Knight Riders and Tokyo Falcons finished 1st and 2nd respectively,so had the automatic qualification to the semi-finals, whereas teams three to six had to compete in a Quarter-Final stage.

In the Semi-Finals, the Men in Blue put on a big first innings target of 146 to beat the Tokyo Falcons. Men in Blue’s Ankit Panwar scored a not-out 87* off 29 balls as they defended their total in the second innings winning by 33 runs. 

In the other game, the number six-seeded team Tokyo Rangers overcame the front-runners Kawasaki Knight Riders in a tight battle. Tokyo Rangers won marginally by five runs after batting first and defending 109.

It was a tough blow for the Knight Riders, who had started the tournament so well with Shubham Shukla smashing a 30-ball century in the very first match, while Vinay Iyer had also excelled to finish as second highest run-scorer and wicket-taker.

The Rangers had got the better of Men In Blue in the group stage, but it was a different narrative in the Final. With the Men in Blue batting first, Semi-Final Star Ankit Panwar fired things off with 24 off just seven balls, to finish as the leading run-scorer for the competition. He was followed by Abhipray Dewan who also smacked the ball around the ground to score a quickfire 39 to get his team to 113 for six after 10.

In the second innings, Rangers’ Md Ibrahim Bakul Robin got his side off to a great start scoring 29 off 12, but the Men in Blue bowling proved too good for the rest of his side.

All six bowlers claimed a wicket in the defence, but it was Vishal Patel who stood out, taking three for eight of his two overs. Patel’s performance claimed the game’s MVP, took him to the top of the tournament wicket-takers list, but most importantly, helped the Men In Blue win the inaugural JCL T10 by 32 runs, sparking huge celebrations.

Vinay Iyer Appointed Men’s National Academy Under 15 Head Coach

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Two-time player of the year Vinay Iyer has been confirmed as the Head Coach of the Japan National Academy Men’s U15 squad.

Vinay has taken on increased coaching responsibility in the last few years, completing his ICC Level One coaching course, working hard with the junior members of the Kawasaki Knight Riders Club, which he founded, and in the Japan Futures League.

As Head Coach of the Gorillas in the Futures League, Vinay led his team to the final in 2022 and went one better this year, winning the second edition of the tournament.

Speaking after his appointment the Head of Cricket Operations at the Japan Cricket Association, Alan Curr, said: “Vinay is an outstanding role model within the cricket community already. His reputation as a player is well earned, but more than that his empathy and dedication to helping players improve is exactly the sort of quality we look for in junior coaches. We are excited to see how he can help improve the best young talent in Japan.”

The role will start immediately and everyone at the JCA would like to congratulate Vinay on his new role.

Women’s Japan National Team for EAP Qualifier Confirmed

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The selection committee for the Women’s Japan National Squad have announced the 14 players who will participate in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier in Port Vila, Vanuatu in August / September.

The team includes one player in line to make her debut, Erika Toguchi-Quinn who impressed in the recently completed Women’s Japan Premier League. 

The team will depart on 25th August and will play two T20 Internationals prior to the tournament starting against the Vanuatu Women’s team.

The full squad is as follows: 

  • Ahilya Chandel (Penrith Cricket Club)
  • Ayumi Fujikawa (Doshisha University Cricket Club)
  • Hinase Goto (Setsunan University / Doshisha University Cricket Club)
  • Haruna Iwasaki (Sendai University Cricket Club)
  • Akari Nishimura (Sendai University Cricket Club)
  • Shimako Kato (Gunnersbury Women’s Cricket Club)
  • Elena Kusuda-Nairn (Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
  • Erika Oda (Kawasaki Knight Riders Cricket Club)
  • Kurumi Ota (Kawasaki Knight Riders)
  • Seika Sumi (Sendai University Cricket Club)
  • Erika Toguchi-Quinn (Melbourne Cricket Club)*
  • Mai Yanagida (Wyverns Cricket Club)
  • Nonoha Yasumoto (Uenomiya Junior and Senior High School Cricket Club)
  • Minami Yoshioka (University of Tsukuba)

*marks player selected for the first time

Match Schedule (Japan Time):

T20Is vs Vanuatu

  • Monday 28 August – Vanuatu vs Japan, Time 11:30
  • Wednesday 30 August – Vanuatu vs Japan, Time 11:30

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup EAP Qualifier

All matches of the Qualifier will be available to watch on ICC.TV

  • Friday 1 September – Cook Islands vs Japan, 07:30
  • Saturday 2 September – Japan vs Samoa, 11:30
  • Monday 4 September – Fiji vs Japan, 11:30
  • Tuesday 5 September – Papua New Guinea vs Japan, 07:30
  • Thursday 7 September – Indonesia vs Japan, 07:30
  • Friday 8 September – Vanuatu vs Japan, 11:30

We wish the team the best of luck in their efforts to qualify for the World Cup. 

JCA Official Social Media:

Women’s National Team Partner

  • Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd.

Mitsui Knowledge Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. specialized in providing services and products related to ICT (information and communication technology). Partnering with various global ICT vendors and supporting more than 1,500 companies, MKI offers best-in-class solutions to customers.

Website: https://www.mki.co.jp/english/

One Short – JCL Round 8 Report

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An exhilarating mid-table battle between the Chiba Sharks and the Men In Blue came down to the last wicket. 

Batting first, the Men In Blue started slow due to some great opening bowling from Sharks’ Muneeb Siddique and Hamid Bacha. Middle-order pair Sopan Shirdhonkar (44) and Narendra Dharajiya (43) fought back with a great partnership to lead their team to a total of 200 for nine after 40.

The Sharks’ chase began well with the top five contributing valuable runs to the chase, Siddique contributing again top scoring with 36. Men In Blue on the other hand were able to grab regular wickets and not allow any big partnerships to form. Manav Natarajan had the best success with the ball taking four wickets including the ninth wicket leaving the Sharks needing 17 more. Bacha, Sharks’ number 10 batter came to the rescue hitting the winning runs in the 38th over including a massive six to give his team a massive one-wicket win.

After their shocking upset win, the Rising Stars have followed it up this round by beating a depleted Wyverns side. 

Missing their captain and leading run scorer Wataru Miyauchi, the Wyverns batters struggled from the onset. Promoted to number five, Nozomi Tomizawa made the most of the opportunity scoring 42 off a run-a-ball. Despite Tomizawa’s efforts, the Rising Stars were ruthless with the ball bowling the Wyverns out for 150 in the 37th over. Sixth bowling option R H Shimul was the standout with impressive figures of three for 19 off eight overs.

The Wyvern’s opening bowlers Yusuke Wakuta and Tomizawa worked hard to take as many wickets up top sharing five between them. It was not enough in the end as the Rising Stars’ batters scratched their way to the total as first-innings bowling standout Shimul, played a cool-headed 34* to bring his side a bonus point four-wicket victory.

Sano brought up their first bonus point victory of the season against the Tokyo Wombats.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, Captain Souta Wada led by example with a top score of 39 for his side. A valuable quickfire 31 from tailender Ryan Drake boosted Sano’s total to 200 for 9 after 40.

Missing the reliable Alex Shirai-Patmore at the top, the Wombats struggled to find runs from the other batters who needed to step up. Sano’s fearless bowlers were too much for the side with Shotaro Hiratsuka spearheading the attack bowling eight overs with figures of three for 17. It took till the 30th over to bowl the Wombats out for 73 winning by a total of 127 runs and securing the bonus point win.

POINTS TABLE: HERE