Japan To Host ICC Men’s T20WC EAP Sub-Regional Qualifier in Sano and Nisshin
- 2026-03-13
- News & Articles
- National Team (Men)
We are excited to announce that Japan will host the nine-team ICC Men’s T20WC EAP Sub-Regional Qualifier in May this year.
This will be the largest international tournament the JCA has ever hosted, and the first to be spread across two prefectures with Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin City hosting groups 1 and 3 in the initial group stage and the Sano International Cricket Ground hosting Group 2.
The tournament will feature three groups of three with the top two teams from each group progressing to the Super Six stage. We are still awaiting final confirmation from the ICC on how many teams will move forward to the next phase of qualifying, for the 2028 T20 World Cup.
The nine participating teams are:
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 |
| Japan | Samoa | Papua New Guinea |
| Fiji | Philippines | Cook Islands |
| Vanuatu | Indonesia | South Korea |
Chief Operations Officer at the JCA, Alan Curr said: “This is an extraordinary opportunity for Japan to show our capacity to host pathway events for the EAP Region across multiple venues. We will be stretched like no time ever before but are confident we can deliver an event that will showcase the best of the EAP as well as create excitement for cricket at the Asian Games later this year.”
The group stage schedule is as follows:
8th May (Friday)
- 09:30 Philippines vs Indonesia (Sano)
- 09:30 Fiji vs Vanuatu (Nisshin)
- 14:00 Cook Islands vs South Korea (Nisshin)
9th May (Saturday)
- 09:30 Indonesia vs Samoa (Sano)
- 09:30 Japan vs Vanuatu (Nisshin)
- 14:00 South Korea vs Papua New Guinea (Nisshin)
10th May (Sunday)
- 09:30 Samoa vs Philippines (Sano)
- 09:30 Japan vs Fiji (Nisshin)
- 14:00 Papua New Guinea vs Cook Islands (Nisshin)
From 12th May the tournament will continue in Sano with fixtures at 09:30 and 14:00 every day until Monday 18th May, with the exception being a rest day on Friday 15th. Fixtures will be confirmed after the initial group stage is completed.
The three teams that are eliminated in the group stage will play matches on SICG 2 on all the match days as well before the teams depart Japan on Tuesday 19th May.
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