Women’s National Team For World T20 Qualifier Announced

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The Japan Cricket Association are delighted to announce the Women’s National Training Squad for 2017.

These 14 players also make up the official team to take part in the forthcoming Women’s World T20 Qualifier to be held in Sano from April 28th to May 5th 2017.

The players chosen are:

Miho Asama (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Rio Endo (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Hikari Ishiguro (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Kanae Ishimoto (Fuji Far East Cricket Club)
Miho Kanno (Adore Cricket Club)
Akari Kitayama (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Etsuko Kobayashi (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Shizuka Miyaji (Fuji Far East Cricket Club)
Kurumi Ota (CATS Cricket Club)
Madoka Shiraishi (Wyverns Cricket Club)
Aki Umetani (Showa University Cricket Club)
Sonia Wylde (Doshisha University Cricket Club)
Eri Yamaguchi (Fuji Far East Cricket Club)
Mai Yanagida (Wyverns Cricket Club)

Following the tournament there will be three specific training camps during the rest of the year, plus the East Asia Cup in September. More players may be added during the season depending on performances.

Congratulations to all those who have been selected and good luck for the year ahead.

“Building a Brighter Future for Japanese Cricket” Video is Released

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Today we have released the second of our videos on You Tube, aimed at highlighting the successful story so far and outlining the plans for an even brighter future.

“Building a Brighter Future for Japanese Cricket” was created using plenty of interviews, live match coverage and even a drone to capture the cricketing landscape in this country.

The aim of the video is to highlight the work that the JCA has put in at grass routes level and the opportunities that exist for people to make things even better. Volunteers play a powerful role in shaping the landscape of a sport, and there are plenty of opportunities for people to help make cricket even better in Japan.

We hope the video will be watched and shared by everyone involved in Japanese Cricket and that together our growing community can take cricket to a wider audience and create even more fans of our favourite sport.

For more information on how to get involved you can contact us through this website, or visit the Play Cricket page for playing opportunities.

National Trials Completed

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Over the last two weekends in March the trials were hosted by the Japan Cricket Association at the Sano International Cricket Ground.

The JCA were delighted to be able to welcome Cameron Tradell back to Japan for both weekends and to see how well both group of players responded to his methods.

The women’s trials, held on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th had around 30 participants over the two days and it was great to see many new faces including some new to cricket.

The men’s trials took place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March and had around 50 people scheduled to take part, although poor weather on the Sunday led to some late cancellations.

Apart from the one day the weather held out remarkably well and the JCA would like to thank all those who came to take part and want to be involved with Japan Cricket this year.We would also like to thank the volunteers who helped out over each of the weekends.

The squad announcements are planned to be made by the end of this week.

Japan Cricket League 2017 Preview

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The sun is shining more brightly, the wind is welcoming rather than wintery, and the sakura is ready to blossom. All this can only mean one thing; the cricket season is about to commence.

And what a season it promises to be. After the ups and downs of last year the Japan Cricket League (JCL) was again bombarded with teams wanting to join the competition, so this year it will be even bigger.

Division One will feature eight teams, including the newly joined Alpha Quashers of Yokohama entering for the first time. AQCC also enter a team into Division Two, along with MAX Cricket Club who have shown great initiative in expanding their own player base so they now feature in both divisions.

In the top flight there will be 11 Rounds with each team playing each other once and then teams drawn at random to play an additional four rounds. In the lower league there will be nine rounds this time.

The season will as ever be rounded off with Semi-Finals and a Final where the winner takes home the spoils. As last year One Short will bring you a report of each round in Division One and cast occasional glances at Division Two in order to pick out any performances of note.

Now, to help pass the time for the next week, and in a purely subjective manner, a little preview of Division One along with predicted finishes follows.

MAX Cricket Club
After back-to-back premierships Max are not resting on their laurels, adding a Division Two team to their set up. The batting remains the strongest in the league with an enviable amount of firepower in their line up. Masaomi Kobayashi and Vinay Iyer hold innings together while Hanif Khan, Supun Navarathna and Makoto Taniyama can take the game apart in no time.

If Taniyama can bowl to his potential and take 20 wickets, do not be surprised to see MAX completing a hat-trick of titles. Their challenge will be early wickets with the new ball, but whatever happens expect the Tokyo club to be right in the hunt.

Predicted finish: 1st

Tigers Cricket Club
The surprise package last year, Ragesh Nair has marshalled his team into a tight unit and formed an impressive opening attack with Joe George last year. Reaching the final last year was an impressive feat and Sabaorish Ravichandran is their trump card with bat and ball. Tigers will look to him to fire again if they are to challenge for the title in just their third JCL season.

Predicted finish: 5th

Chiba Sharks Cricket Club
Forever the bridesmaids, can this finally be their year? The Sharks have fallen at the Semi-Final stage in each of the last three seasons and having been runaway league winners they will be desperate to finally come out on top.

The loss of the experienced Prashant Kale and Paul Grant on the surface looks to be a big  blow and they will rely heavily on Dhugal Bedingfield for runs, but Sharks have more depth than most and an abundance of young talent to call on. Are the young guns such as Matsumura, Siddique and Thurgate ready to step up to fill the void? Can Tsuyoshi Takada return from his spell in Australia and be the best spinner in the land? Big questions but it could be the time for promise to yield results.

Predicted finish: 2nd

Tokyo Wombats Cricket Club
The Wombats came out of the blocks like team possessed in 2016, but were unable to sustain their form in the long run. Can Patmore repeat his run fest of last year? He will need to if the Wombats are going to return to their halcyon days of a few years back.

The hard hitting Bracefield was a handy inclusion last year but it’s wickets that the Wombats desperately need. If Yusry Mohideen and Rony Taluqdar can consistently fire, Wombats are still going to cause problems and feature at the pointy end come crunch time.

Predicted finish: 3rd

Sano Cricket Club
It’s been a quiet couple of years for the once unbeatable Sano. A flood of players have departed but there is still more than enough talent leftover to beat any team in the league on the right day. Sano will again embrace a spin-to-win policy with Prabath Sankalpa, Munir Ahmed and the dangerous Raj Kumar sure to feature in the wickets. 14 year old prodigy Kazumasa Takahashi looks set to take the new ball while Rashid Rana and Chatutha Aravinda will be looked to for the runs.

Predicted finish: 6th

Wyverns Cricket Club
A rebuild is in progress at the Wyverns camp with youth being injected into the 1st XI. The signing of Wataru Miyauchi from Uenomiya has been quite the coup and he joins national players Ken Okoshi, Shodai Yamada Raheel Kano and Tomoki Ota as the future of the club.

Consistency will be the concern for Wyverns after some nasty collapses last season. Ota needs another big season with the bat if Wyverns are to prove a point, while if Bebe Miyaji spends more time in the middle he could be the difference between a season of struggle or one of sweet success.

Predicted finish: 7th

Paddy Foleys Cricket Club
There can be no doubt that the 2016 season in Division One for Paddy’s was akin to some of the mornings after experienced by those who once frequented the now defunct Irish Pub after which they are named. Not a single win, and not much to celebrate either, there needs to be a miraculous turnaround if things are to improve.

Paddys are prone to showing flashes of brilliance, but developing consistency and discipline is a work in progress. Captain Kamran Syed will stand up as leader once again, and on him much will rest. Expect Paddys to surprise some teams this year and pick up some points, but a finals place appears beyond them at this stage.

Predicted finish: 8th

Alpha Quashers Yokohama
The new kids on the block, AQCC earnt the right to respect after finishing as runners up in the Japan Cup last season, losing a tight final against the imperious Tochigi CC. Several years of waiting has finally given them a chance in the big leagues and they will be desperate to make the most of it.

However the JCL is no T20 slapdash, and while their natural talent will take them so far, especially their seam attack of Mohan Govindasamy and Vasanthan Jayakumar, posting a big score will be the main challenge. Despite all that, here at One Short we are expecting big things, and a Semi-Final berth is very possible.

Predicted finish: 4th

“Dive into the World of Cricket!” Released!

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The JCA are delighted to release our new promotional video “飛び出せ！クリケットの世界へ！” (“Dive into the World of Cricket!”), which is available on the JCA YouTube Channel “JapanCricket“.

The purpose of the video is to showcase the international, diverse, inclusive, fun, and inspirational values of the sport.

We hope the video will be shared widely by the cricket community and help attract a wider range of people in Japan to the great sport of cricket.

Please see here for how to become involved and make the most of cricket in Japan.

Annual General Meeting Concludes 2016

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On Saturday 18th March the Japan Cricket Association hosted the Annual General Meeting to complete the 2016 financial year.

The JCA would like to thank all of those who turned out to represent their clubs and regions and to hear how 2016 was organised and the plans ahead for this season. In total 24 clubs were represented by a total of 33 members, along with eight members of JCA staff and five members of the JCA Board.

The day began with a seminar for Regional Associations to help with general administration and good practice when managing individual clubs or regions, along with systems training.  Following this each region was invited to give a short synopsis of their activities in the last 12 months and tell the room of any plans ahead.

The AGM itself commenced at 3pm, chaired by Kei Imamura, with the financial report being confirmed by those present and the business plan and budget approved. A good question and answer sessions was also held where many members were able to quiz the JCA staff on plans and strategies.

The full schedule for 2017 will soon be live on the JCA events page so do check there for the various activities that will be going on throughout Japan at all age groups.

Our thanks go to Kotobuki Ltd in Hamamatsucho for hosting us for the first time since their refurbishment and we hope to renew our longstanding relationship with them as our hosts in Tokyo.

 

Cricket Blast 2017

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The Cricket Blast program returns in 2017 to all three regions which hosted in in 2016, but this year small changes have been made to each to ensure we keep the product fresh and exciting for all who take part!

Akishima and Sano will operate in two seasons with the first beginning on Sunday June 18th and running for four weeks in succession, this time for three hours. This way we believe that more regular exposure will enable the participants to really get involved and learn the skills required to enjoy cricket to the fullest.

In Yokohama there will be just four events spread out over the year, and each one will be held as a cup day with a maximum of eight teams able to enter. These have proved very popular and we thank the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club for continuing to host the program.

If anyone wishes to be involved, either as a participant or volunteer, then please contact the Program Manager Bebe Miyaji on b-miyaji@cricket.or.jp and he will make sure your query reaches the relevant person.

Thanks and we hope to see you again this year!

Venue
Sano International Cricket Ground 佐野市国際クリケット場
Akishima Musashino Elementary School 昭島市立武蔵野小学校

Registration and Fees：
Register for one 1,500yen per go・First time free
Register for two 4,000yen for the series(4 times)
Register for three 3,500yen for the series(4 times), also get a badge.
Register a team 3,000yen for the series(4 times) , also get a team hat.

Register here

Coaching Opportunities in Japan – 2017

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The Japan Cricket Association are keen to create more opportunities for coaches in Japan to develop their skills so that the game can continue to grow throughout the country.

As the partnership with Cricket Victoria has now extended into high performance we are keen to use these coaches not just to improve our players, but also our coaches.

In 2017 alongside a Level One Coaching Course to be run in the summer, we will also be inviting coaches to assist and learn at our National Team training camps by way of providing practical experience.

During August we will also provide the opportunity for coaches to attend the junior camps that are running in Sano. These will be free to anyone with a Level 1 Coaching Certificate or above.

We ask that anyone interested in developing their coaching fills out the following form before April 21st. You will be contacted at a later date to inform you of what day is best for you to attend.

https://goo.gl/forms/EJlFQEeGo60VeIK93

Information on each event is below:

National Men’s Squad Training Camps (Sano International Cricket Ground):

May 27th & 28th (10:00 – 16:00)

August 5th & 6th (10:00 – 16:00)

October 14th & 15th (10:00 – 16:00)

(Free of charge)

National Women’s Squad Training Camps (Sano International Cricket Ground):

June 3rd & 4th (10:00 – 16:00)

August 12th & 13th (10:00 – 16:00)

Ocotober 21st & 22nd (10:00 – 16:00)

(Free of charge)

Level One Coaching Course (Tokyo, Venue TBC):

July 15th  (10:00-17:00)

(JPY 4,000 per day)

Under 15 High Performance Camp (Sano International Cricket Ground):

August 7th & 8th (10:00 – 16:00)

(Free of charge with a Level One Coaching Certificate, otherwise JPY 4,000 per day)

Under 19 / Student Training Camp (Sano International Cricket Ground):

August 9th (10:00 – 16:00)

August 10th (10:00 – 13:00)

(Free of charge with a Level One Coaching Certificate, otherwise JPY 4,000 per day)

Women’s Training Camp (Sano International Cricket Ground):

August 10th (14:00 – 17:00)

August 11th (10:00 – 16:00)

(Free of charge with a Level One Coaching Certificate, otherwise JPY 4,000 per day)

We hope that this will become a regular part of the JCA calendar and that we can continue developing talented coaches throughout Japan.

If you have any questions please contact either of the following:

Alan Curr: Head of Cricket Operations on a-curr@cricket.or.jp

Dhugal Bedingfield: Community Cricket Manager on d-bedingfield@cricket.or.jp

Come and Support the Japan Women’s Team!

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From Friday 28th April 2017 Sano City will be hosting the ICC Women’s World T20 Qualifier featuring the four best teams from the East Asia Pacific region, and the Japan team needs your support!

The tournament will run through to Friday 5th May and the JCA is hoping to show the ICC and the cricket community worldwide how strong the cricket family is in Japan.

Aside from the pleasure of watching cricket at Japan’s premier cricket venue, the Sano International Cricket Ground, we are also offering prizes to all of those who register in advance to let us know they will attend.

 

The full fixtures can be found by clicking on our events page. During the tournament there will be fun activities taking place around the ground and opportunities for kids to sample have a go at the game of cricket as well.

We are also happy to announce Sunday 30th April as “Ladies Day” when we encourage any ladies to come along and socialise over tea and cakes and even have a go playing cricket in a fun and friendly environment.

This is also a great opportunity to learn about the new Women’s Social League which is starting in Tokyo in May this year.

So come along to the Sano International Cricket Ground, cheer for our girls, have great fun and maybe win a fantastic prize all at the same time!

We hope to see you there!

National Trials Deadline 10th March

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Applications to attend the representative trials for the Japan Men’s and Women’s teams are closing soon. The deadline is Friday 10th March.

These are open trials and we would like to encourage all Japanese players of any age to attend so you can judge where you are compared to the best players in the country.

Players who are ineligible to play for Japan are still welcome to attend the trails to gain some coaching before the start of the season.

For the women’s trails we are encouraging anyone who has a background in ball sports to come along as we look to attract new talent to cricket, so if you have friends or family who might be interested please bring them along.

The women’s trials will take place on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th March 2017. Each day will run from 10am – 4pm at the Sano International Cricket Ground. Those wishing to attend the should fill out the form by clicking on this link:   https://goo.gl/forms/q2mX7oDZakdxfCtI3

The men’s trials will take place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March 2017. Each day will also run from 10am – 4pm at the Sano International Cricket Ground. Those wishing to attend the should fill out the form by clicking on this link: https://goo.gl/forms/iXEkn2eTZIgaz4GS2

Any questions about the trials, especially regarding eligibility should be directed to Alan Curr on a-curr@cricket.or.jp.

Please do not fill out the form if you do not currently live in Japan.