Japan National Cricket Team Guide
The Japan National Cricket Team is overseen by the Japan Cricket Association and is an ICC associate member. Organised cricket is relatively new in the country compared to other cricketing powerhouses. However, recent years have seen the Japan cricket team begin to assert themselves on the global stage.
History of Japan National Cricket Team
Although the sport of cricket was introduced to Japan as far back as 1860 by the British, it wasn’t actually an organised sport in the country until the 1980s. The Japan Cricket Association was actually founded in 1984, and the Japan national cricket team became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1989. They made their first tournament appearance in the 1996 ACC Trophy; however lost all their games, which included a defeat to the Fiji cricket team by 380 runs. In 2005, the Japan cricket team became an ICC associate member and gained T20I status in 2018.
Where Does The Japan National Cricket Team Play?
The Sano International Cricket Ground was the first purpose-built cricketing ground in Japan, hosting a majority of visiting international cricket teams and acting as the home ground for the Japan national cricket team.
Top Run Scorers In Japan National Cricket Team History
Between 2008 and 2018, Masaomi Kobayashi was one of the most notable batters for the Japan national cricket team. He was the first player to hit 800 runs for his nation and managed multiple half-century games in his international career.
Top Wicket Takers In Japan National Cricket Team History
Since debuting for the Japan cricket team back in 2012, spin bowler Makoto Taniyama has been one of the most prolific players, being amongst the first to take over 30 wickets and record a multi-wicket game.
Memorable Games For The Japan National Cricket Team
The 2018 East Asia Cup was a standout tournament for the Japan national cricket team, seeing the nation face off against the South Korea cricket team, China cricket team and Hong Kong cricket team. The three games that Japan played all ended up in victories for the nation, seeing them win the tournament as a whole. This featured a dominant performance against Hong Kong in which they won by 86 runs and another where they won by 84 runs against the South Koreans.
After gaining full T20 international membership to the International Cricket Council back in 2019, the Japan cricket team played its first official T20I match against Indonesia in 2022. This took place at the Sano International Cricket Ground and saw the home nation of Japan come away victorious. This was a major milestone for the nation, claiming a debut victory in this cricket format.
Rivals Of The Japan National Cricket Team
Rivalries don’t really exist between the Japan national cricket team and other countries. However, they have had a wide number of competitive games against both the Indonesia cricket team and the Philippines cricket team.
