Newly promoted Tigers Cricket Club pulled off the result of the season so far with a 64-run victory over Tokyo Wombats, to end their unbeaten start to the season.

Despite the defeat Wombats stay top of the league table, but were left stunned after a brilliant start at Fuji turned sour with some brutal hitting by Tigers lower order.

Batting first the Tigers slipped to 71-5 inside 15-overs, but were rescued initially by Ramamoorthy Balasubramanian, coming in at number seven to hit an enterprising 58 from 56 deliveries.

He was outdone however, by Divyanshu Srivastava whose unbeaten 54 from 35 lifted the Tigers to 258/7 from their 40 overs as they took 94 from the final 10.

In reply a rare failure from Alex Patmore meant that a significant score was needed from elsewhere. However a watchful 49 from Jarrad Shearer was as good as it got as Captain Ragesh Nair dismissed both openers on his way to season best figures of 4/29 and Wombats succumbed to 194 all out.

A third win from five matches puts the Tigers 4^th in the table and this is a result that will make the rest of the league look at the newcomers a little differently from now on.

With Wombats dropping points the Chiba Sharks had an opportunity to make up ground after their defeat to the Tokyo-based club last week when they took on bottom of the table Paddy Foley’s at the Sano International Cricket Ground.

In a match with freakishly similar scores to the contest at Fuji, the Sharks closed the gap on the top to just 0.5 points with a 64-run win of their own.

Wholesale changes at the top of the order worked a treat for Sharks who had 169 before the fall of their second wicket. Fresh opener Paul Grant (67) put on 123 with former Japan international Prashant Kale, who later became the second player this season to fall on 99.

A score of 257/8 was always going to be a challenge for Paddy’s, who were short of two batsmen, but half centuries from two of their own top three kept things interesting.

Ali Raza (51) and Kamran Syed (58) were making a decent fist of things before Samoa Women’s Captain Regina Lill’i broke the partnership and Tsuyoshi Takada proceeded to run riot with the lower order grabbing 4/40 as Paddy’s folded for 193.

At Sano Three MAX Cricket Club continued their rejuvenation with a comfortable 121-run win over a depleted Wyverns. Although both teams were missing regulars who had inexplicably chosen to represent their University Team ahead of their Clubs, it was MAX who were least affected.

Former internationals Supun Nawarathna (50 from 35) and Hanif Khan (47 from 33) made light of the bowling to lead MAX to 228/8 from their 40 overs, only Raheel Kano causing any issues as he collected 4/52 from his eight overs.

The chase never came to life at Takuro Hagihara again restricted the top order with 2/15 while Vinay Iyer secured the win as he grabbed three of the last four wickets to go down and finish with 3/25 and secure his team a bonus point.

This weekend the JCL will take a well-earned break as the Japan Premier League launches across Kanto, but Round Seven promises much with the Sharks and Tigers clashing in Sano, Wombats and Max repeating the 2015 final, and strugglers Sano and Paddy’s looking to improve their season.

1. The top two teams in Division One clashed at Fuji last weekend, with both teams protecting unbeaten records thus far.What promised to be a tight contest proved however to be anything but, as Tokyo Wombats demolished the Chiba Sharks in ruthless fashion.

   Yet another half century from Captain Alex Patmore at the top of the order set Wombats on their way to 114/1 at the halfway stage, only for the Sharks to then enjoy their best part of the day.

   Vivek Singh dislodged the obdurate Patmore on his way to 4/30, and as wickets tumbled it was left to Gavin Beath to slug three maximums as his run-a-ball 46 made sure the hard work of the top order was not wasted and carry Wombats to 216 all out.

   Faced with a target that was challenging but not impossible, the Sharks collapsed at the top and never recovered. Yusry Mohideen started the rot by dismissing two of the top three before Rony Taluqdar made sure there would be no recovery by taking 5/14 as the Sharks were dismissed for just 90 inside 20 overs giving Wombats the win by 126 runs plus a bonus point.

   An extra touch of class was shown at the end with both teams coming together to join in a rendition of Happy Birthday in honour of Sharks 12^th man Kris Bayne; proving the spirit of cricket is alive and well.

   While defeated finalists Wombats have been in fine form this season, the 2015 Champions MAX CC have struggled. A victory against the Tigers last week seems to have renewed confidence and they followed up with a crushing win against the hapless Paddy Foley’s, who remain at the foot of the table after four straight defeats.

   Paddy’s batted first and struggled to 112 all out from 34 overs at Sano Three with Makoto Taniyama the pick of the bowlers taking 3/16 from his allotted eight overs.

   The chase was over in the blink of an eye as Hanif Khan took just 35 balls to smash an unbeaten 82* including four sixes and 11 boundaries. Opening partner Amigo Kobayashi simply watched on at the other end as the 10-wicket win was secured in just 10.4 overs to grab MAX a bonus point win.

   In the final match of the round, played at the SICG, Wyverns beat Sano to earn their second win of the season and leapfrogged their opponents in the table, thanks to a bonus point.

   The win was gained in similar fashion to the previous round – bat first and put runs on the board. This time it was Raheel Kano, promoted to open the batting against his former club, who anchored the innings on his way to 70, ably supported by Ken Okoshi (36) in a strong opening stand.

   The total of 213/7 proved too tall for Sano, who were then put to the sword by another former player. Shodai Yamada ran through the top order, taking 4/30 and meant that Wyverns were always in control of the match. The winning margin of 90 runs drops Sano to 6^th in the table after being dismissed for 123 in 28 overs.

   Round Six will all take place this Saturday, May 21^st as Wombats return to Fuji to take on Tigers, sharks will want to bounce back against Paddy Foley’s at SICG and the rejuvenated Wyverns and MAX face off at Sano Three.

Tomoki Ota hit 99 as Wyverns defeated Paddy Foley’s by 71 runs to record their first win of the season. Japan Vice-Captain Ota hit four maximums in his 87-ball innings only to be clean bowled a single short of a maiden hundred.

Ably supported by Ken Okoshi, who passed fifty for the first time in Division One, Wyverns posted an imposing 282/7 from their 40 overs and Paddy’s were always struggling as they were dismissed for 210.

The innings moved Ota up to 2^nd in the list of leading run scorers for the season, but former Japan international Alex Patmore remains on top after a 3^rd score of 48 or more helped Tokyo Wombats maintain their 100% start to the season with a 46-run win over Sano CC.

Patmore’s 75 at the top of the innings pushed Wombats to 216/5 from their 40 overs as Sano desperately missed the bowling of leading wicket-taker in the Division Prabath Sankalpa. Sano never really got going in the chase as Zeeshan Naglekar grabbed 4/21 with Sano dismissed for 170 in 37.2 overs.

Sano had narrowly defeated MAX in the previous round, meaning the defending Champions were without a win going into the match against Tigers CC. Their stuggles so far this season were emphatically put behind them however, as they easily overhauled the Tigers by seven wickets in the final match of the round.

Winning the toss and opting to bowl first was proved a wise choice as the MAX bowlers all kept tight lines and wickets fell regularly. Takuro Hagihara proved the pick of the seamers with 2/9 from his five overs as Tigers were dismissed for 94 in just 34.4 overs. The chase was straightforward as MAX coasted home for the loss of three wickets inside 20 overs. Supun Nawarathna hit a run-a-ball 39 while Japan Captain Masaomi Kobayashi anchored the innings.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the tie of the round is the clash between the two unbeaten teams of the season; the Chiba Sharks and Tokyo Wombats who will lock horns at the Fuji Grounds on Saturday 14th May. Meanwhile Paddy Foley’s will go up against MAX and Wyverns face off against Sano in the Sunday matches.

As the rest of Japan turned their thoughts to the Golden Week holiday, four teams locked horns in JCL Division One to see who could close the gap on Chiba Sharks at the top of the table.

The Sharks had comfortably beaten Wyverns in the first match of the round a week previously, recovering from 45/5 as fine 59 from Higashimoto helped them to a score of 227, before dismissing the Wyverns for a mere 165. Wickets were spread around with Matsumura (2/26) doing the damage at the top of the order, including a stunning return catch off his own bowling.

With the Sharks maintaining their 100% start to the season and the Wombats sitting out the round, it was left to the rest to take up the charge and so all eyes turned to the clash between two traditional powerhouses of the JCL in MAX and Sano.

In the closest match of the round, it was Sano who edged a thrilling contest by just six runs at the Watarase River Ground 3.  Left to defend a lowly 137 after a fairly timid batting performance, Sano summoned great strength to mop up MAX for just 131. Despite a second consecutive half-century from Iyer (58) at the top of the order, nobody else could handle Destroyer-in-Chief Sankalpa as his 4/28 moved him to the top of the wicket-takers list for the season so far.

Just down the road the final tie of the round was also taking shape, as the Tigers continued their recent form with a comfortable win over Paddy Foley’s by 80 runs, meaning all three defeated teams in the round remain without a win this season.

The Tigers had Balasubramania (71) and captain Ragesh Nair (55) to thank for their score of 231 all out while Nair was also among the wickets with 3/21 in tandem with a clinical performance by Imtiaz Khan who claimed 5/32 as Tigers strode up to 2^nd in the table.

As the Sharks take a breather this weekend, it will down to the rest to close the gap, while winless Paddy Foley’s and Wyverns will come together in a game where someone will register their first points.

In Division Two Paddy’s are having a much better time with two wins from two after a comfortable beating of Sano 2^nd XI by 136 runs. After posting 213 courtesy of a run-a-ball 71 from Wewalagamage, despite the best efforts of Mai Yanagida (4/47), Sano offered little resistance in being dismissed for 77.

The Tigers 2^nd XI recorded their first win of the season by 80 runs against Fuji Far East, Anuraj Singh hitting 81 while Ryoya Tsutsui offered the only resistance for Fuji Far East, smashing an aggressive 54 before being controversially run out after colliding with a fielder.

It is Adore however who top the table after a tight victory against the Chiba Sharks 2^nd XI. Late hitting by Shinichi Takase (61 off 47) took Adore to 210 all out from 37.5 overs, even after Samoa women’s team captain Regina Lill’I took 3/15 on debut. Lill’i the anchored the chase with 51 but did not get the required support as the Sharks fell 17 runs short thanks in part to 3/24 from Shun Hashiba.

The 2^nd Division take a break now until the end of May.

*A little reminder that the JCA would gratefully receive any match photos, especially of Division One matches. Please send them in to a-curr@cricket.or.jp.