The latest round of fixtures in the Japan Cricket League is perhaps most significant for a match that did not take place. Sano CC, league leaders and the only JCL team with a home ground, were unable to field a team for their only away fixture of the season against the Tokyo Wombats.

On current form, what would have been a banker for Sano has turned into a two point deduction for them, with Wombats taking all five points on offer. This result reignites the Wombats hope for a Semi-Final spot, while Sano face an anxious wait to find out if they will face further sanctions.

Tomoki Ota: Back in the runs

All of that meant that Wyverns had another chance to go top of the table if they defeated Paddy Foleys, who would return to the bottom if they lost. It was a chance that Wyverns gleefully accepted, thanks to a return to form for Tomoki Ota.

Ota anchored the innings with a mature 71, which almost doubled his run tally for the season, and was well supported down the order by another Japan stalwart Tatsuro Chino (18) who made a much anticipated return to Division One.

A score of 176 all out was no more than par, and with Prashant Kale in form it was obvious Paddy’s hopes depended on him. After Oshantha Nanayakkara (4/24) got amongst the top order, Kale stood alone and his 46 was the only real resistance as Bebe Miyaji (3/30) mopped up the tail with Wyverns taking all ten wickets for 139 to win by 37 runs.

Elsewhere MAX CC made sure that their place in the Top Four remained secure by sneaking passed their closest challengers, Tigers CC. Batting first and posting 192/8, thanks to a combative 54 from Sabaorish Ravichandran and 4/39 from Sujith Dharmasina.

Tigers would have been aware that a similar score was chased down with eight wickets in hand when these two teams met earlier this season, but in a sign of their marked improvement in recent weeks, MAX were pushed hard and only scraped over the line by two wickets this time.  

While Hanif Khan was blasting his way to 73 from 52 deliveries, including six maximums, Tigers would have feared the worst, but his dismissal brought about a collapse of five wickets for 27 runs and it was left to Talha Tanveer (19*) to edge MAX to victory.

Alpha Quashers have found life pretty tough in the JCL, with their batting often letting them down. Against Chiba Sharks however, they made sure they had a very small target to chase as Karthik Vellingiri (4/9) and Devendra Dhaka (3/4) bowled Sharks out for just 69 in 32 painstaking overs. Just two Sharks batsmen managed double figures in a low point of the season for them.

Quashers romped home with seven wickets and almost 24 overs to spare, Dhaka contributing again with 28*, to give AQCC a bonus point win which keeps alive their hopes of making the Semi-Finals.

*One Short would like to apologise for the last three reports all using Wyverns Team photos as the lead image. This is not through any bias, but because they are the only club who post useable pictures on their social networking sites where we can access them. 

Round Seven was severely curtailed to rain with the contests between Sharks and Tigers as well MAX and Wombats both being washed out and denying the sides down the table the opportunity to push themselves closer to the play off places.

There were no such struggles for the two leaders however, as Sano CC were able to complete wins in their Round Six and Seven matches since our last report which gives a commanding 14-point lead over fifth-placed Sharks and all but guarantees them a Semi-Final berth.

In their Round Six match vs Alpha Quashers the leaders looked in trouble as they fell to 105 all out in just 28.4 overs. Six different Quasher bowlers were in the wickets, Mohan Govindasamy (2/9) removing both openers to set the tone of the innings.

Yet Sano know how to win games this season and Uddika Pradeep (3/7) and Salman Khan (3/9) opened bowling and crushed Quashers hopes. All ten wickets fell for just 52 runs as Sano secured a 53-run win and earned themselves a bonus point in the process. 

Sano’s win in Round Seven was equally emphatic as Paddy Foley’s were brushed aside by six wickets. A battling 44 from Prashant Kale helped Paddy’s to 152 all out in the final over and put himself on top of the run-scoring charts for the season so far. Yet with confidence high in the Sano team another victory was comfortably achieved thanks to 48* from Pradeep, and another bonus point comfortably earned as the score was chased inside 20 overs.  

In the only other match of the round Wyverns continued their excellent form, Raheel Kano registering his best score of the season with a well manufactured 65 to help Wyverns post a total of 197 all out, boosted by a muscular 30 from 23 deliveries by Koji Iwasaki from number nine.

Batting continues to be a struggle for the Quashers however, and an excellent 57 from Narendar Madhavan went in vain as wickets constantly tumbled all around him. Takahiro Aoki was the Wyverns star with the ball, grabbing career best figures of 4/24 as AQCC went down for just 97 to give Wyverns the win by exactly 100 runs as well as a handy bonus point as they try to keep pace with Sano at the top.

A full complement of fixtures is scheduled for this weekend so here’s hoping the weather stays dry.

A quick glance at Division Two shows three teams currently joint top, with Paddy Foleys ahead on net run rate but having also played an extra game, while defending champions Tigers snap at their heels.

Also in the mix is the Sano 2nd XI who have taken the most wins with four from five and the other washed out while Chiba Sharks and Alpha Quashers are fighting it out for the other semi final spot, as they are in Division One.

Wyverns Cricket Club are a team transformed in 2017. Just two wins last season, they have doubled that tally already and look set to pick up several more in their bid for a first ever JCL Title.

They defeated defending Champions MAX CC by 46 runs, a win that was build on contributions throughout their order as they posted 203/9 from their 40 overs. Bebe Miyaji top scored with 49, while Tomoki Ota (34) and Rinsei Sawada (31) also provided impetus as MAX struggled for penetration.

No such problems for Wyverns however, who had an early breakthrough with the very first ball of the second innings. The opening bowlers Oshantha Nanayakkara (3/45) and Shodai Yamada (2/22) shared half the wickets between them as only Amigo Kobayashi (25) showed any ambition. His dismissal led MAX to dig in and eek out 157/9 from their 40 overs to at least deny Wyverns a bonus point.

Aditya “Barney” Tallapragada: 50 runs and three wickets vs Paddy Foleys.

If drama is what you’re after, then Chiba Sharks are certainly the team to watch this season. In the past five rounds every match they have played has come down to a margin no greater than two wickets or two runs, the contest against Paddy Foley’s was no different.

Batting first and missing a host of players, the Sharks looked in deep trouble before their final wicket pairing of Aditya  Tallapragada (50) and Krishna Bahtia (27) doubled the score to 149 all out; Raman Tanwars 3/19 doing the bulk of the damage.

In response Paddys looked like a team without a win in their last four matches and six different bowlers picked up wickets for the Sharks. At 123/9 it looked all over, but Hassain Noman (15) and Ashok Kumar (8) dragged the team the rest of the way for a one wicket win.

That result meant that Paddys would move off the foot of the table if Wombats could not better the result against a Tigers side starting to return to form.

Batting first it looked like the Wombats were laying a steady platform as Alex Patmore (50) and Jarrad Shearer put on 84 for the second wicket. The rest of the batting fell away however, as Ashik Chowdury grabbed 3/33 to keep Wombats to 167/9 from their 40.

Wombats may have felt they had enough to defend, but such thoughts were swiftly put to bed as Sabaorish Ravichandran rediscovered the form that made him so feared last year, striking five sixes on his was to a 56-ball 79* which won the game at a canter with seven wickets in hand and 13 overs to spare.

That win for Tigers is their third in succession and pushes them into the play-off places; form that the teams around them will take notice of as the season moves towards the second half.

In a quirk of the scheduling computer the final match of the round, Sano CC vs Alpha Quashers, will actually be played after the completion of Round Seven, so that write up will feature next week.