Japan U19s Earn Third Win at World Cup Qualifier

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The Men’s Japan Under 19 team earned a third win in succession at the ongoing ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier in Darwin, by beating Samoa Under 19s by 134 runs.

Winning the toss and batting for a second successive match, there were contributions throughout the order after Nihar Parmar was run out in the first over.

Nikhil Pol made his first significant contribution with the bat as he made 47, while captain Koji Hardgrave-Abe continued his excellent form with a well-made 52. 

Vice-Captain Kazuma Kato-Stafford struck a career best half-century of his own coming in at number six, while Shotaro Hiratsuka and Aditya Phakde made 39 and 22 respectively.

All those partnerships contributed to Japan reaching 259 before being bowled out with one ball of the innings remaining, a score the team felt confident of defending.

Japan had to work hard for the win however, Darren Roach frustrating the bowlers with hard fought 40 at the top of the order, while Iefata Tautiaga held up proceedings with a handy 34 not out.

Hardgrave-Abe starred in the field with four excellent catches, one an absolute screamer at short leg to give Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake his second scalp of the day on the way to figures of two for 12 from his eight overs. That return put him top of the wicket-taker charts for the tournament at the conclusion of the match with 12 to his name.

Aditya Phadke had his first bowl of the tournament and after a nervy start chipped in with two for 12 from his four overs, while fellow off-spinner Hiratsuka added two for 23, which takes his wicket-tally for the tournament to nine.

Kazuma Kato-Stafford had started things with an early breakthrough, and returned to take the final two wickets to earn himself the Player of the Match award as Japan maintain an impressive winning run.

On Monday Japan will play Papua New Guinea and will enter the match as underdogs against the region’s traditional powerhouse, in a contest eagerly anticipated by both sides.

Be sure to tune in on the live stream and send the team plenty of support on social media for this one!

Records Tumble in Japan Victory Over Vanuatu

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Records tumbled in Darwin today as our Men’s Under 19 National Team recorded a huge victory over Vanuatu with captain Koji-Hardgrave-Abe and bowler Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake both putting in stellar performances. 

Winning the toss and batting first, Japan were initially indebted to the new opening partnership of Nikhil Pol and Nihar Parmar who eased into the game with a solid partnership of 39 inside the first nine overs. Parmar, who made 24, struck a sublime extra-cover drive to the boundary in the fourth over to show why he had been promoted up the order, while Pol made 20 before being caught and bowled to be the first wicket to fall. 

Hardgrave-Abe was next in, and immediately looked at home as his first two deliveries were both sent racing to the cover point boundary. The captain never looked back and was particularly strong square of the wicket on both sides, but he did need support when Japan slipped to 115 for four. The support was provided by the obdurate Chihaya Arakawa, batting in a Japan shirt for the first time. His 28, before being run out by a direct-hit, played a vital role in a partnership of 115 as Hardgrave-Abe first moved to fifty, then to a highest ever score by a Japan Under 19 player as he passed the 68 made by Kazumasa Hitasuka four years ago. 

In the 45th over Hardgrave-Abe brought up his century with a simple push into the off side, raising his bat to the applause of his teammates and supporters. It came from 95 deliveries and he was eventually out in the final over for 127 having struck 15 boundaries and two sixes after an entertaining partnership of 66 with Kazuma Kato-Stafford (31). His innings is the highest score ever made in an international match by a Japanese player.

The total of 298 for seven felt like a winning score despite Vanuatu having enjoyed two days’ rest since their last match. It was then the turn of Yamamoto-Lake to take centre stage as he bowled with pace and venom to dismantle the Vanuatu batting line up. Initially he was grateful to Daniel Panckhurst behind the stumps for a couple of catches, one an excellent leg-side grab, before he started rattling the woodwork as his last four victims were all clean bowled on the way to sensational figures of seven wickets for just 11 runs, the best ever by any player in a Japan shirt.

Nikhil Pol also claimed two scalps while Hirotake Kakinuma finished the innings off for a second match in a row as Japan bowled Vanuatu all out for just 40 runs to record a victory by 258 runs, the biggest in terms of runs that the Under 19s have ever achieved. 

Speaking after the match, Hardgrave-Abe said: “The energy has been great in the team, responding really well since that first match against New Zealand. Everyone is working really hard, and it’s so good to know that all the teammates back each other to do their job.”

Coach Ardene Ruhode was equally effusive in his praise saying: “The team is moving in the right direction. For a young group, they’re playing some cricket that really belies their age. Of course, there are always areas of improvement for us, but they can be really proud of their efforts over the last two days. This is only the halfway stage so we want to finish as strongly as we can in the last three matches.”

That leaves the team with two wins in succession and second on the points table behind New Zealand having played a game less. 

Japan next play on Sunday 18th June against Samoa with the game again starting at 9 am Japan Standard Time.

Japan Under 19 Earn First Win

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The Japan Men’s Under 19 team earned their first win of the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier in Darwin, Australia, defeating previously unbeaten Fiji by eight wickets. 

Fiji won the toss and chose to bat, but Japan made sure that was the only thing that went the Fijians’ way as opening bowlers Kazuma Kato-Stafford and Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake gave absolutely nothing away in their opening spell of 12 overs which left Fiji 20 for two, with Kato-Stafford collecting his first wickets of the competition. 

However, it was the introduction of Shotaro Hiratuska that really wrecked havoc for Japan, wickets coming regularly for the off-spinner. His first four wickets came at a cost of just 14 runs as Japan had Fiji in a spin at 60 for eight, although a spot of late hitting from the Fijian number ten, Dawson Tawake (17 off 20), damaged his figures a little. Hiratsuka won the battle eventually to finish with figures of five for 32, only the third time a Japan player has ever taken a five-wicket haul in an Under 19 International. 

Japan lost Nikhil Pol early in the chase, but it was relatively plain sailing from there as Aditya Phadke and captain Koji Hardgrave-Abe took Japan past the halfway mark before Phadke was pinned LBW for 16 from 21 balls. 

Hardgrave-Abe (28*) and Hiratsuka (11*) had led Japan to 81 for two against New Zealand in their previous match, and the partnership again looked solid as they cruised to the target. The captain was particularly savage on the spin of Jazary Browne, striking a six and a four in the 12th over, before a delightful off-drive from Hiratsuka a short while later took Japan to the verge of victory, which was duly wrapped up with eight wickets and 35 overs to spare. 

Japan will take on Vanuatu tomorrow in the morning fixture as the competition continues.

 

One Short – JCL Round 5 Report

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Bhanuka Ranathunga and Milinda Sanjaya were the stars with the ball in a shortened Round Five as rain influenced most of the weekend’s play.

Max had a big bonus point win over the struggling Tokyo Falcons pushing themselves into the top four. 

Ranathunga tore right through the Falcon’s order, not allowing any batters to settle in. He took an impressive six wickets for just 15 runs, bowling the Falcons out for 110 in under 32 overs. Karthik Vellingri came in at three and batted through the innings but unfortunately, no one in his team could stick around scoring 34*.

Hanif Niazi didn’t waste any time as he was the only batter that made it look easy that day, scoring a quick 69 before he fell. Max reached the total despite making it tougher than it should’ve been. Nevertheless, they got there in the 24th over, completing the three-wicket bonus point win.

The Tokyo Rangers leapfrog to the top of the JCL Standings with their win over the Chiba Sharks. 

The first innings was a rollercoaster for both teams, having periods where each team looked on top. Vinoth Takoor held the batting innings together, scoring a steady 53 with support from Kasun Ganesh (34). On the other side, Shark’s Hamid Bacha had a great bowling performance taking five for 29 and helping his team to bowl out the Rangers for 175 in the 39th over.

Having to deal with an under-par score, the Rangers had a superb start dismissing some key batters early. The Sharks counterpunched, however, with a 54-run partnership between Marcus Thurgate (40) and Muneeb Siddique (27). Sanjaya, who has been dominating the JCL with the ball so far, had his best performance yet with MVP figures of six for 28. He propelled his side to a 66-run win, bowling the Sharks out in the 32nd over and claiming a bonus point.

Points Table: HERE

Positives in Under 19 Loss to New Zealand

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The Men’s Japan Under 19 team eventually lost by 162 runs to tournament favourites at the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier in Darwin, but took plenty of positives from the performance.

Playing against one of the strongest Under 19 teams in world cricket, Japan won the toss and chose to bowl. The decision looked vindicated when Japan had New Zealand in trouble at 131 for six in the 28th over, Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake and Shotaro Hiratsuka both claiming two scalps.

The depth of quality in the New Zealand line up eventually proved the difference as Sam Clode (53) and Zac Cumming (78) put on 108 in 16.1 overs for the 7th wicket to take the game beyond Japan’s reach with a total of 295 all out.

In the chase captain Koji Hardgrave-Abe (35) and Hiratsuka (24) put on a half century partnership to put Japan 82 for two at around the halfway mark, but it was Cumming again who stole the show, taking three wickets in the 27th over to put New Zealand well on top.

The Japanese batters showed great resolve and tenacity to make New Zealand work as hard as possible for the win, eventually being dismissed for 133 in the 44th over.

Speaking after the game coach Arden Ruhode said he was proud of the way his team had played and believes it holds them in good stead for the rest of the tournament.

Elsewhere on Day One, Fiji defeated Papua New Guinea and Indonesia defeated Vanuatu.

One Short – JCL Round 4 Report

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It was a round of big rivalries and nail-biting finishes, with many games leaving players on the edge of their seats in a packed Round Four of the JCL.

Rangers captain Aloysius Chathuranga scored his maiden JCL hundred making it the second hundred already from a Rangers player in their win over Max CC.

Spectacular opening bowling from Max’s Dinesh Sandaruwan and Bhanuka Ranathunga knocked off the high-scoring top order, sharing five wickets each, leaving the Rangers looking dead in the water. 118 for eight at one point, the innings’ resurgence came in a 10th wicket stand with Manoj Lakmal (40*) and Chathuranga, who had an incredible captain’s knock of 100 of 70 balls. This 138-run partnership launched the Rangers into a very competitive score of 247 after 40.

Max had a 50-run opening partnership to start the innings positively but from there, they were not able to sustain any long-term partnerships for the remainder of the game.  Dissanayake Malinda top scored at number six with 47 but eventually ran out of partners as the Rangers’ tight bowling unit halted the side to 188 all out.

The Alpha Quashers got their first win of the season in a big way, beating the Wyverns in a one-run thriller. 

Batting first, the Alpha Quashers’ top four did a great job setting up their side for a big score led by Rohit Kesari, scoring 59. To the Wyverns’ credit, they did not let any of the batters get away, Kohei Kubota the pick of the bowlers ending with figures of three for 32. Sadly, 30 extras did not help the Wyverns’ cause, as the Alpha Quashers ended on an above-par score of 229 for six from 40 overs.

Wyverns got off to the start they needed, opening their innings with a near 100-run partnership through their trusty pairing of Shogo Kimura (58) and Wataru Miyauchi (73). The Wyverns were cruising to the total through JCL’s current leading run scorer Miyauchi, but after he fell, the collapse of all collapses began. Only needing 42 with six wickets in hand, batters four through 10 could only manage of those 41 runs in a game that came down to the last over. Fortunately for the Alpha Quashers this game, luck was on their side.

On the same day, two of Japan’s biggest rivals, Men in Blue and Tokyo Falcons, faced off against each other at Sano One. Winning the toss and batting, the Men in Blue found it hard to score on a slow grass wicket; Raja Jayaram scored a gutsy 31, but the Falcons bowlers, led by Nikhil Pol (three for 22), stormed through the middle order. A couple of valuable ninth and 10th wicket partnerships at the end gave the total a much-needed boost before the Falcons finished them off for just 121.

JCL’s current leading wicket-taker Vishal Patel and bowling partner Prasanth Manvi then ripped through the Falcons high scoring batters, taking seven wickets between them. At 41 for seven MIB looked down and out, however, Abhi Telang, batting at nine, gave the team hope by adding 45. It was however, too little too late as the Men in Blue bowled Falcons out for just 103, thanks to Patel’s four-wicket haul, to win by a close 18 runs.

The biggest upset of the year came from the Paddy Foleys overcoming the seemingly unbeatable Tigers on Sunday, 21st May. 

After a tough start, the Paddy Foleys clawed their way back into a strong position batting in the first innings. Led by Waseem Javed (53), the middle and lower order made valuable contributions on their way to a strong total of 233 all out from the full 40 overs. Last year’s Player of the Year, Sabaorish Ravichandran, once again led from the front with bowling figures of eight overs, three for 22.

Tigers were cruising in the first 20 overs, as they were 157 for two before, thanks to Ajay Thakur’s 63 and Ravichandran’s quickfire 34 off 18. Both were then dismissed with the score still at 157, but at 189 for five with 14 overs to go, confidence remained high in the Tigers camp, but that quickly turned. A team bowling effort from the Paddy Foleys caused a flurry of wickets in the last 10 overs resulting in bowling out the opposition out 22 runs short of the total.

Sano had a tight win over the Rising Stars.

The Risings Stars’ batting innings gained momentum after a slow start with a solid 70-run partnership between Mdruhul Kabir (26) and Md Alamgir (53). Furthermore, Abuhasnat Alam (34) added some valuable runs at the end however, Sano’s top-order bowlers Reo Sakurano-Thomas and Kazumasa Hiratsuka, took three wickets each with economies under three, restricting the side to 159 all out.

In spite of a couple of early hiccups, Sano’s chase was looking good, Sakurano-Thomas (53) and Souta Wada (25) built a strong partnership at two for 95. When Sakurano-Thomas fell, a pile of wickets in the middle order followed, making for a tight ending. Zubair Khan (24) calmed all the faces on the Sano sideline, however, as he guided his team home, winning the game by two wickets and launching Sano to the top of the table.

A high-scoring affair between the longest rivalry in the JCL, The Chiba Sharks, and the Tokyo Wombats rounded off the final game of round four.

In the annual fixture played at the Mount Fuji ground, Chiba Sharks batted first and posted a very competitive first innings total of 257 for eight. The top scorers for the side included Ibrahim Takashi (78), Dhugal Bedingfield (41), and Tsuyoshi Takada (39) to set up an enticing chase.

Wombats had the dream start with the two opening stalwarts RIchie Bracefield (69) and Alex Shirai-Patmore (66), posting a 123-run first-wicket partnership. The game flipped on its head when the first breakthrough struck, and then Muneeb Siddique gave his Sharks side a big boost, taking four wickets and dismantling the middle order. The Sharks eventually bowled the Wombats all out for 189, and with that win, moved into the top four in the standings.

Points Table: HERE

Men’s Under 19 Japan National Team Named for World Cup Qualifier

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Ardene Ruhode, the Chair of the National Academy Squad Selection Committee has named a 14-strong team to participate in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup East Asia Pacific Qualifier in Darwin, Australia. 

The tournament will take place between 12th and 21st June with Japan playing against Fiji, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu. 

This will be the first time the Japan Men’s Under 19 team has taken the field since the World Cup in South Africa in 2020, after missing out on the opportunity to defend their regional title in 2021 due to the COVID Pandemic. 

Koji Hardgrave-Abe will captain the side, with Kazuma Kato-Stafford as vice-captain of a young side in which half of the players will remain eligible in two years time. 

All players will be representing Japan officially for the first time, although the oldest player in the squad, Shotaro Hiratsuka, was a reserve for the team in 2019 and 2020. 

The players were chosen after putting in strong performances in domestic cricket over the last 12 months, and impressing during the recent Futures League and Japan Premier League. 

Coach Ruhode said: “The boys have worked hard and are excited to get out there now. It feels like they have had to wait a long time but the chance to play six good teams on great facilities will be a great experience and serve them well in the future. We are excited to show everyone what we have.”

The full squad and fixtures are below: 

SQUAD: 

  • Chihaya Arakawa (Sano Braves Cricket Club)
  • Koji Hardgrave-Abe (C) (Sano Cricket Club)
  • Shotaro Hiratsuka (Sano Braves Cricket Club)
  • Hirotake Kakinuma (Sano Braves Cricket Club)
  • Kazuma Kato-Stafford (VC) (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
  • Timothy Moore (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Daniel Panckhurst (Hong Kong Cricket Club)
  • Nihar Parmar (Alpha Quashers Yokohama Cricket Club)
  • Aditya Phadke (Alpha Quashers Yokohama Cricket Club)
  • Nikhil Pol (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)
  • Rithvik Sivakumar (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)
  • Aarav Tiwari (Kawasaki Knight Riders Cricket Club)
  • Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake (Willetton Cricket Club, Perth)
  • Max Yonekawa-Lynn (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)

FIXTURES:

  • 12th June at 13:30: New Zealand vs Japan. Venue – DXC Arena 1
  • 15th June at 09:30: Fiji vs Japan. Venue – DXC Arena 2
  • 16th June at 09:30: Japan vs Vanuatu. Venue – DXC Arena 2
  • 18th June at 09:30: Japan vs Samoa. Venue – DXC Arena 2
  • 19th June at 13:30: PNG vs Japan. Venue – TIO Stadium
  • 21st June at 10:30: Japan vs Indonesia. Venue – TIO Stadium

*All times are local, Japan is 30 minutes behind Darwin.

New National Academy Intake Announced

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We are delighted to confirm a host of new players selected for both the Japan Under 19 and Under 15 National Squads.

The squads have been chosen after monitoring the past performances of players while also factoring in those who impressed at the National Academy Trials.

Age was the primary factor when considering the selection of players, with future Under 19 World Cup qualification tournaments at the forefront of the selectors’ minds. As such, all new players need to be born after September 1st 2006.

We are excited to see how the new players develop in the coming years and hope they all have a long and successful cricket careers in Japan.

Japan National Academy (Men’s U19)

  • Chihaya Arakawa (Sano Braves)
  • Archit Choudhury (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)*
  • Arpan Choudhury (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)*
  • Parth Gundecha (Tokyo Titans Cricket Club)*
  • Koji Hardgrave-Abe (Sano Cricket Club)*
  • Kota Hasegawa (Uenomiya Junior and Senior High School Cricket Club)
  • Shotaro Hiratsuka (Sano Braves)
  • Kirren Hollow (Lions Cricket Club)*
  • Hirotake Kakinuma (Sano Braves)*
  • Issa Katakura (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
  • Tetsuro Kato (Acton Cricket Club)
  • Kazuma Kato-Stafford (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
  • Tomoki Kurihara (Sano Braves)
  • Noah Michalski (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Timothy Moore (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Ryuki Ozeki (Sano Braves)
  • Daniel Panckhurst (Hong Kong Cricket Club)*
  • Nihar Parmar (Alpha Quashers Cricket Club)
  • Bhavesh Paturi (Men in Blue Cricket Club)*
  • Aditya Phadke (Alpha Quashers Cricket Club)
  • Nikhil Pol (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)
  • Tomo Rear (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)
  • Arron Regin (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)
  • Hayato Shimada (Uenomiya Junior and Senior High School Cricket Club)
  • Rithvik Sivakumar (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)
  • Shugo Takasugi (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)*
  • Aarav Tiwari (Kawasaki Knight Riders Cricket Club)
  • Jamie Urano-Fordyce (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Yuto Yageta (Sano Braves)
  • Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake (Willetton Cricket Club)*
  • Max Yonekawa-Lynn (Chiba My-Ys Cricket Club)

*New Players

Japan National Academy (Men’s U15)

  • Juto Ball (Lions Cricket Club)*
  • Skyler Nakayama-Cook (Streatham Cricket Club)*
  • Taiga William Hague (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Charles Hinze (University of Queensland Cricket Club)*
  • Gabriel Hinze (University of Queensland Cricket Club)*
  • Montgomery Hinze (University of Queensland Cricket Club)*
  • Rikuto Honjo (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)*
  • Ishan Kumar Lal (Tokyo Falcons Cricket Club)*
  • Hashaan Muhammad (Sano Braves)*
  • Luke Kosuke Mynard (Fleet Cricket Club)*
  • Kaede Sommer (Lions Cricket Club)
  • Hugo Kelly (University of Queensland Cricket Club)*
  • Vihaan Tiwari (Kawasaki Knight Riders Cricket Club)*
  • Rishaan Harshal Ukhande (GIIS Academy)*
  • Aaryan Waduge (Alpha Quashers Yokohama Cricket Club)*
  • Aaryash Waduge (Alpha Quashers Yokohama Cricket Club)*
  • Kouki Yoshida (Akishima Aviators Cricket Club)*

*New Players

[About the Japan National Academy]

  • The Japan National Academy has a Men’s U19 category and a Men’s U15 category. Each category is a group of promising players within each age limit that take part in an annual training program. The aim of the Men’s U19 category is to build an inspirational Men’s U19 Japan National Team while the Men’s U15 category aims to develop the next generation of players. Men’s U19 Japan National Teams that play International Cricket are selected from both categories of the National Academy.

Japan Out of Women’s East Asia Cup 2023

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The Women’s Japan National Team bowed out of the 2023 East Asia Cup in the group stage amid a swathe of injuries that made the doubleheader in tough conditions too much for the developing side. 

In the morning, Japan was forced to rest three frontline players to manage fitness and the conditions, while Hong Kong had their strongest side out as they looked to bounce back from a surprise defeat by China the day before. 

It was a case of familiar faces doing the damage for Hong Kong as first Kary Chan made 32 from 27 balls to lead her side to 116 for six with luck deserting Japan, who were twice penalised five penalty runs. 

Then it was the turn of Maryam Bibi to take apart a refigured batting order with her three wickets for just eight runs as Japan battled to 65 for nine, a 48-run defeat, with debutant Yukino Nakayama unable to bat. 

In the afternoon, Erika Oda, Ahilya Chandel and Haruna Iwasaki all returned to take on China, but it was the hosts who made a flying start after winning the toss and batting first. 

Lili Han (17) and Mingue Zhu (14) struck a flurry of boundaries, and only Nonoha Yasumoto was able to stem the tide as she took one for 15 from her four overs and proved to be the discovery of the tournament for Japan. 

A total of 117 for seven proved too much as Japan lost early wickets, and although Akari Nishimura (21) and Minami Yoshioka (17) provided some defiance, Japan eventually finished 35 runs short at 82 for nine from the 20 overs.  

Japan finished the tournament with one win and three defeats and now looks ahead to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in Vanuatu in September. 

The Final of the 2023 Women’s East Asia Cup between China and Hong Kong will begin at 9 am local time, and the scores can be followed live on CricHeroes.

Japan Earn First Win of East Asia Cup 2023

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Halfway through the Women’s East Asia Cup 2023 in Hangzhou, China and Japan have registered one win and one loss from the opening two matches. 

On Friday, the Japan Women’s team registered their first win under new coach Ardene Ruhode, defeating China by 11 runs thanks to star turns from several players. 

Erika Oda set the tone at the top of the order, batting through the innings to record her highest international score of 46 not out. She was valiantly supported by Haruna Iwasaki, who struck her first ball for six and finished with 36 from 32 balls as Japan posted 106 for four from 20 overs.

Japan made a flying start in their defence of the total as Ahilya Chandel took two wickets in the first over, with Kurumi Ota striking in the next over to leave China reeling with only two runs on the board and the top three batters all dismissed. 

An excellent partnership between China captain Zhuo Huang (30 from 52) and Lili Han (27 from 36) gave Japan cause for concern before captain Yanagida bowled Han as debutant Nonoha Yasumoto piled on the pressure from the other end with a maiden in her first over on the way to exceptional figures of one for six from four overs, which changed the game completely. 

Chandel returned at the death to again strike with successive deliveries and finish with career-best figures of four for 12, which earned her the Most Valuable Player award as Japan kept the hosts to 95 for 8 and earned a win by 11 runs. 

In match one on Thursday, 25th May, Japan struggled to adapt to the hot conditions and struggled to post a score high enough to really challenge the Hong Kong batters. Erika Oda was the top scorer with 25 from 32 balls, but Cindy Ho (three for 10) and Betty Chan (two for six) really stifled the Japanese batters. 

Japan did, however, show their ability with the ball and in the field with some eye-catching moments. Kurumi Ota struck in each of her first two overs on her return to international cricket after a seven-year absence before Elena Kusuda-Nairn marked her debut with two wickets in her first over. 

The first was an astonishing catch by substitute fielder Seika Sumi, who took a flying catch at mid-on to dismiss Shanzeen Shahzad before a trademark outswinger rearranged the stumps of Lemon Cheung to have Hong Kong 21 for four and in genuine strife. 

Hong Kong Captain Kary Chan took charge from there on as her 31 not out in partnership with Dorothea Chan (17 not out) was enough to ease Hong Kong to a six-wicket win with 3.2 overs to spare. 

That was the second win of the day for Hong Kong, who had edged passed China by just two wickets in the morning match. 

Japan will play two matches on Saturday 27th in a bid to make the Final, but after two tough days have several players nursing injuries and will need the support of the whole squad and everyone at home to make it. 

Although the matches are not being live streamed from China, the organisers are doing their best to provide live scores on CricHeroes while the JCA Twitter and Instagram feeds are being regularly updated for Japan matches.