ACCC Victory again for EAP Women

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The East Asia Pacific Women’s team once again won the Australian Country Cricket Championships, held this year in Wollongong, New South Wales.

This year two Japanese players were selected in the squad, Etsuko Kobayashi travelled as vice-captain, and Mai Yanagida. The side was also coached by Japan Cricket’s Head of Junior Cricket Naotsune ‘Bebe’ Miyaji.

This was a great experience for the Japanese players, playing and training in high class facilities as well as working with players from different backgrounds who they are more used to seeing as opposition.

Etsuko and Mai are both likely to be involved in the Women’s World T20 Qualifier taking place in Sano in April/May and this extra cricket over the Japanese winter will held them with their preparation.

In the Men’s competition the EAP side finished as Runner Up in the T20 competition, although they were unable to win a game in the 50-over competition. For Makoto Taniyama, the sole Japanese representative, this was excellent experience before he returns to Australia in February to play in the World Cricket League Division 5 Qualifier.

Also in Australia, Tsuyoshi Takada is continuing to have an excellent season playing for the Melbourne based club Mount Waverley. Starting in the 3rd Team, he has performed well enough earn a place in the 1st Team.

Spending six months in Australia is certain to improve his cricketing ability and we look forward to seeing this improvement in Bendigo.

Congratulations to all the above players on continuing to shine a positive light on Japan Cricket.

2017 Japan National Squad Trials Taking Place In March

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The Japan Cricket Association will once again be holding open trials for anyone who wishes to be considered for the 2017 Japan National Men’s and Women’s Squads.

The women’s trials will take place on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th March 2017. Each day will run from 10am – 4pm. The JCA would like to encourage all sportswomen to attend, even if they are new to cricket.

The men’s trials will take place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th March 2017. Each day will also run from 10am – 4pm.

Both trials will take place at Sano International Cricket Ground and will be run by former Cricket Australia trainer Cameron Tradell along with JCA staff and volunteers.

Those wishing to attend the women’s trials should fill out the form by clicking on this link: https://goo.gl/forms/q2mX7oDZakdxfCtI3

Those wishing to attend the men’s trials should fill out the form by clicking on this link: https://goo.gl/forms/iXEkn2eTZIgaz4GS2

The deadline for signing up for the trails is Friday 10th March 2017.

Only players eligible to represent Japan will be selected, although anyone is welcome to attend for the experience. If you have any questions about the selection criteria please contact Head of Cricket Operations Alan Curr via email on: a-curr@cricket.or.jp.

2016 Awards Ceremony

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The Annual Cricket Awards Ceremony for the Kinki Cricket Association was held at Kyoto Gakuen University on December 25, 2016. Over 100 cricketers attended, representing all age groups from Juniors, High School, University and Adult teams.

Squad Selected for 2017 ICC World Cricket League Qualifier

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The National Selection Committee have chosen a squad of 14 players to represent Japan in the Men’s 2017 ICC World Cricket League Qualifier to take place in Bendgio, Australia next year.

The team will depart Japan on Tuesday 14th February, with the first official matches to be played for the 19th – 25th.

Masaomi Kobayashi will again captain the squad, following on from his excellent displays in the East Asia Cup. Tsuyoshi Takada will make his return after missing the previous tournament due to playing club cricket in Australia.

Ryoya Tsutsui was unavailable for selection so Raheel Kano returns to the squad after an excellent season in domestic cricket.

The full squad list is below, congratulations to all players selected and good luck in the tournament.

1. Masaomi Kobayashi (MAX Cricket Club)
2. Takuro Hagihara (MAX Cricket Club)
3. Raheel Kano (Wyverns Cricket Club)
4. Rui Matsumura (Chiba Sharks Cricket Club)
5. Wataru Miyauchi (Uenomiya Junior and Senior High School Cricket Club)
6. Ken Okoshi (Wyverns Cricket Club)
7. Tomoki Ota (Wyverns Cricket Club)
8. Muneeb Siddique (Chiba Sharks Cricket Club)
9. Makoto Taniyama (MAX Cricket Club)
10.Tsuyoshi Takada (Hosei University & Musashino University Cricket Club)
11. Marcus Thurgate (Chiba Sharks Cricket Club)
12. Kohei Wakita (International Buddhist University Cricket Club)
13. Shodai Yamada (Wyverns Cricket Club)
14. Jun Yamashita (International Buddhist University Cricket Club)

Recent Visitors From Abroad

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Since October the Japan Cricket Association has been proud to receive several visitors from overseas
for various lengths of time. All of these have contributed to the organisation and our goals in various ways and we wish to thank them all for their time and hard work while in Japan.

The first to arrive was Joseph Barratt. Joe, 20-years old and from England, is part of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) “Young Cricketers” program and his placement was paid in full by Sano City Council.

During seven weeks in Japan Joe was kept busy running school clinics, working with junior clubs and helping improve the coaching standards. He acted as assistant coach for the men’s team during the East Asia Cup and also helped with general tasks in the office.

We would like to thank Joe for his efforts and Sano City Council for their role in making his placement possible. We hope this relationship can grow into a regular placement and potentially provide opportunities for Japanese players in England.

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Also during the East Asia Cup we hosted David Reid as Head Coach and Todd Luckhurst as groundsman. Both Australians were visiting for the second time and played a significant role in the success of the inaugural Men’s tournament. Thanks to both for their hard work and time.

Most recently Bruce Cruse, who is Head of Participation at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), spent one week in Sano. Bruce spent 16 years as Head of Facility Development in England and his main purpose in Japan was to help with the planning for the Sano International Cricket Ground (SICG).

Bruce helped move the process forward considerably in his short time here and we also hope that this can be the start of a regular partnership with the ECB and their staff.

SANO, JAPAN - MAY 11: Papua New Guinea Vs Japan during the final of the ICC EAP Women's Trophy at Tanuma High School on May 11, 2014 in Sano, Japan. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images for ICC)

Finally, at the start of December Laura Piekarski from the International Cricket Council will return for her second visit to Japan to assist with the planning of the Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament which Sano will host in April and May next year.

The JCA is grateful to all of these recent visitors for helping to move Japan Cricket forward and we hope to welcome them all back again in the future.

Japan Cricket Association 2016 Award Winners

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The Annual JCA Awards night was hosted at Yokohama Country and Athletic Club on Saturday 26th November. Thank you to all those who attended and made for an enjoyable night.

The list of award winners is below, congratulations to everyone:

 

Japan University Women’s Championship (全日本女子学生選手権)

Champions Wicket (チャンピオンズウィケット)

Winners: Chuo University

Final MVP: Mai Ikeda

Best Batter: Rio Endo *

Best Bowler: Mai Ikeda

Best Fielder: Chigusai Sorai*

Tournament MVP: Rio Endo*

 

Japan University Men’s Championship (全日本男子学生選手権)

Champions Wicket (チャンピオンズウィケット)

Winners: Chuo University

Final MVP: Ken Okoshi*

Best Batter: Ryoya Tsutsui*

Best Bowler: Hiroki Kondo*

Best Fielder: Rinsei Sawada*

Tournament MVP: Hiroki Kondo*

 

Japan Women’s Tournament (全日本女子トーナメント)

Champions: Adore-Mirandars-Showa

Best Fielder: Ayako Nakayama

Best Batter: Rio Endo*

Best Bowler Ruan Kanai*

MVP Shizuka Miyaji*

 

Japan Women’s Cricket League (日本女子クリケットリーグ)

Champions: Wyverns Cricket Club

Best Bowler: Kanae Ishimoto*

Best Fielder: Ayako Nakayama

Best Batter: Shizuka Miyaji*

Best Bowler: Mai Yanagida

MVP: Kaoruko Nishida*

 

Japan Premier League

Champions: South Kanto Super Kings

Best Batter: Supun Navarathna

Best Bowler: Dhugal Bedingfield

MVP: Sabaorish Ravichandran

 

Japan Cricket League Division Two

Champions: Tigers Cricket Club

Best Batsman: Anil Kumar*

Best Bowler: Prasanth Pooyath

MVP: Devinda Fernando*

 

Japan Cricket League Division One

Champions: MAX Cricket Club

Best Batsman: Alex Patmore

Best Bowler: Prabath Sankalpa*

MVP: Vinay Iyer

 

Japan Cup

Champions: Tochigi Cricket Club*

Best Batsman: Rashid Rana*

Best Bowler: David Miles*

MVP: Raj Kumar Pradhan*

 

Greg Chapple Cricket Centre Player of the Year Award – Women

Winner: Shizuka Miyaji*

Runner Up: Ayako Nakayama

Third Place: Mai Yanagida

 

gccc-player-of-the-year-vinay-iyerGreg Chapple Cricket Centre Player of the Year Award – Men

Winner: Vinay Iyer

Runner Up: Sabaorish Ravichandran

Third Place: Prabath Sankalpa*

The Winner of the GCCC Player of the Year Men receives a brand new Steeden Cricket Bat, and the Women’s a brand new Impala Cricket Bat. Thank you to the Greg Chapple Cricket Centre for their continued support.

*Players with an apteryx by their name were not present to collect their awards on the night.

Japan Cricket League – Team of the Year Announced

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Here at One Short we have taken great pleasure in following the exploits of the players around the domestic scene in Japan in 2016.

Although the reports have mainly been focused on the Japan Cricket League, especially Division One, we have regularly kept an eye on the Japan Cup, Japan Premier League as well as the Women’s League, University League and the Under-19/Under-15 Leagues, all of which have developed improved considerably this year.

It was a pleasure to attend the 2016 JCA Annual Awards night in Yokohama last weekend, and to see so many proud cricketers there to collect their awards. Some jubilant scenes indeed.

One category that did not actually obtain an award was the Japan Cricket League Team of the Year. Although there is nothing to take home as such, being named in this XI highlights consistency over the season, and that is reward enough.

So without further ado, here is the team that was named:

  1. Alex Patmore (WK) – Tokyo Wombats
  2. Dhugal Bedingfield – Chiba Sharks
  3. Vinay Iyer – MAX CC
  4. Supun Navarathna – MAX CC
  5. Sabaorish Ravichandran – Tigers CC
  6. Tomoki Ota – Wyverns CC
  7. Munir Ahmed – Sano CC
  8. Paul Grant – Chiba Sharks
  9. Raheel Kano – Wyverns CC
  10. Ragesh Nair (Captain) – Tigers CC
  11. Prabath Sankalpa – Sano CC

So there it is, a team to take on the world no doubt and great to see a couple of Japan National Team players in there as well.

One Short is very keen to find any willing and aspiring writers to join the team, especially anyone who can wax lyrical in the native tongue of Japan. So if that is you then please do not hesitate to contact us.

So, until the time comes to don the uniforms and take to the crease, here is One Short signing off for the year and wishing you all a fine festive season.

Japanese Players Selected To Represent East Asia Pacific Region

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Three Japanese players; Etsuko Kobayashi and Mai Yanagida from the women’s team, and Makoto Taniyama from the men’s team, have been selected to play for the East Asia Pacific representative team in the annual Australian Country Cricket Championships.

Joining them will be JCA staff member Naostune Miyaji who will be co-coach of the women’s team.

The tournament will take place in the first two weeks of January in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.

img_60732016 was the first time the women’s team were entered into the competition, which they won. They will aim to repeat that success in 2017 with Kobayashi, Yanagida and Miyaji all returning for the second year.

For 20-year-old Taniyama this is the fourth year he has been chosen.

Special congratulations to Etsuko Kobayashi who has been appointed vice captain for the women’s team.

The purpose of the ACCC is for the top teams within each state, outside of the main metropolitan areas, to compete against each other while the EAP players get a chance to gain experience playing overseas and learning from each other.

The JCA would like to congratulate the selected representatives and we hope it is a great experience for all involved.

Japan to Host Women’s World Cup Qualifier

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The Japan Cricket Association are very happy to announce that the ICC have chosen Sano as the host city for the East Asia Pacific Women’s World T20 Qualifier.

The teams are due to arrive on Wednesday 26th April, with the matches beginning on Friday 28th. There are four teams competing in the competition; Japan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Vanuatu.

The format is that each team will play each other twice, and there will be no final. The team that finishes top of the group will progress to the final stage of qualifying for the World Cup.

CEO Naoki Miyaji said: “We are very proud that Sano has again been chosen to host this prestigious tournament. It shows how reliable Japan has become as a host nation for regional cricket competitions and is great reward for all the support that Sano City is giving to cricket. We are confident it will be a great event.”

The JCA have chosen the first weekend, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th, as the best opportunity to attract spectators to the Sano International Cricket Ground.

Following on from the success of the recent Men’s East Asia Cup it is expected that matches will be live streamed again on Abema Fresh while there will be lots of Social Media platforms covering as well.

More information will follow in the new year.

Braves win Back-to-Back Under 15 Titles

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The North Kanto Braves have defeated the Chiba My Ys in the Under 15 final for the second year running to cap a strong season for the Sano based team.

Braves allrounder Kazumasa Takahashi was named the MVP of the final after smashing 38 and taking 3/8 He was also named league MVP.

Braves opener Shu Noguchi was named the league’s best batsman whilst Chiba My Ys off spinner Yugandhar Retharekar was awarded best bowler.

As with last year the Braves and the My Ys proved to be the two strongest teams, meeting in the final. After Noguchi won the toss and decided to bat, the Braves made an enterprising start. 

In reply, captain Neel Date’s run-a-ball 23 kept Contributions from Noguchi, Reiji Suto and Taiga Nakagawa saw the Braves maintain a steady run rate before Takahashi’s swashbuckling innings took his team to a total of 116/6, the highest of the finals series.his side in the game but three wickets to Kazumasa Takahashi and two to his younger brother Shotaro put a dent in the My Ys innings. A fighting 34 run last wicket partnership between Shubhankar Kulkarni and Rihito Ishii was not quite enough as the My Ys fell 23 runs short.

A much improved Akishima Aviators team claimed third place in the league.