# Japan national cricket team

The Japan national cricket team is the men's team that represents the country of Japan in international cricket. The team is organised by the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which has been a member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1989. Japan made its international cricketing debut at the 1996 ACC Trophy in Malaysia. Most of the team's matches are played in regional competitions, generally against other teams in the ICC East Asia-Pacific development region. Between 2008 and 2012, Japan participated in the World Cricket League (WCL), reaching WCL Division Five at one point.
In April 2018, the ICC decided to grant full Twenty20 International (T20I) status to all its members. Therefore, all Twenty20 matches played between Japan and other ICC members since 1 January 2019 have the full T20I status.
Japan were placed in qualifier B in the 2022–23 ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier, which was held in Sano, Japan. They beat Indonesia and South Korea to reach the East Asia-Pacific Regional Final, where they lost to the Papua New Guinea national cricket team. They will participate in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier B, which will take place in South Korea from September to October.

## History

Cricket was introduced to Japan in the 1860s, by the British, but did not become organised until the 1980s, when the Japan Cricket Association was formed. They became an affiliate member of the ICC in 1989, and the national team first played in the 1996 ACC Trophy, losing all their games including a 380 run defeat by Fiji. They continued without success in the 1998 tournament and the 2000 tournament.
After the 2000 ACC Trophy, they left the Asian Cricket Council and became part of the ICC's East Asia/Pacific region. They played in the East Asia Eights tournament in Australia in February 2002, finishing as runners-up to an Australian indigenous team. Indonesia and South Korea were the other teams in the tournament. In 2004, they hosted the East Asia Pacific Cricket Challenge tournament as part of qualification for the 2007 World Cup, finishing third after beating Indonesia in a play-off.
In June 2005, Japan were promoted to associate membership of the ICC and that year they played in the 2005 ICC EAP Cricket Cup in Vanuatu, winning the tournament after beating the Cook Islands in the final. The following year they played in the 2006 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Brisbane finishing last in the three team tournament that also involved Fiji and the Cook Islands.
In December 2007 Japan took part in the 2007 ICC EAP Cricket Trophy in Auckland, New Zealand, playing against the Cook Islands, Indonesia, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Japan won the tournament and qualified for Division Five of the World Cricket League where they finished in tenth place out of the twelve countries represented in Jersey.
On 22 March 2016, it was announced that Sano, Tochigi, would be home to the Sano International Cricket Ground, which will become Japan's first dedicated purpose-built cricketing venue which no longer had to compete with other sports for usage.
On 9 October 2022, Japan played their first ever T20 international match against Indonesia. In January 2023 it was announced that Japan and Indonesia would be included in Asian Cricket Council (ACC) pathway events, while remaining in the ICC East Asia-Pacific development region. Japan was formally readmitted to ACC membership in January 2024, with Indonesia also joining as a member.
Japan will be participating at 2022 Asian Games cricket tournament. They were placed in a group along with Cambodia and Hong Kong. This will be the Japan national cricket team's first appearance at the Asian Games.
In recent years, the Japan Cricket Association has been actively promoting the game in Japan by conducting many professional ODI and T20 leagues, such as the Japan Cricket League and Japan Cup. The JCA has also designed a cricket blast programme to teach 8-12-year-old school children. Cricket in Japan is also being bolstered by immigrants from India, Pakistan, Australia, Britain, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

## Tournament history
### ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier

* 2023: Runners-up (EAP Regional Final)

### ACC Challenger Cup

* 2024: 4th place

### ACC Trophy

* 1996: First round
* 1998: First round
* 2000: First round

### World Cricket League

* 2008: Division 5 Tenth place
* 2009: Division 7 Fourth place
* 2011: Division 7 Sixth place
* 2012: Division 8 Third place

### East Asia Cup

Sources:
* 2015: 2nd place
* 2016: 2nd place
* 2018: Winners
* 2024: Runners-up

## Current squad

Updated as of 12 May 2024
This lists all the players who have played for Japan in the past 12 months or has been part of the latest T20I squad.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||
| Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake | 22 | Right-handed | | |
| Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming | 29 | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | Captain |
| Koji Hardgrave-Abe | 19 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Alester Kadowaki-Fleming | 27 | Right-handed | | |
| All-rounders |||||
| Ibrahim Takahashi | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Declan Suzuki-McComb | 21 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Sabaorish Ravichandran | 32 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Benjamin Ito-Davis | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||
| Wataru Miyauchi | 26 | Right-handed | | |
| Alexander Shirai-Patmore | 27 | Left-handed | | |
| Spin Bowlers |||||
| Makoto Taniyama | 29 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Charles Hinze | 16 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Abdul Samad | 20 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| Pace Bowlers |||||
| Reo Sakurano-Thomas | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Vice-Captain |
| Ryan Drake | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Kazuma Kato-Stafford | 17 | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| Kohei Kubota | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake | 18 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | |

## Records

International Match Summary — Japan
Last updated 5 October 2024
Playing Record :
| Format | M | W | L | T | NR | Inaugural Match |
| Twenty20 Internationals | 40 | 27 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 9 October 2022 |

### Twenty20 International

* Highest team total: 258/0 v. China on 15 February 2024 at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok.
* Highest individual score: 134*, Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake v. China on 15 February 2024 at Mission Road Ground, Mong Kok.
* Best individual bowling figures: 6/26, Reo Sakurano-Thomas v. Thailand on 2 February 2024 at Terdthai Cricket Ground, Bangkok.
| Player | Runs | Average | Career span |
| Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming | 1,420 | 45.80 | 2022–2024 |
| Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake | 772 | 23.39 | 2022–2024 |
| Sabaorish Ravichandran | 741 | 25.55 | 2022–2024 |
| Ibrahim Takahashi | 436 | 15.57 | 2022–2024 |
| Declan Suzuki | 362 | 18.10 | 2022–2024 |
| Player | Wickets | Average | Career span |
| Reo Sakurano-Thomas | 38 | 15.18 | 2022–2024 |
| Sabaorish Ravichandran | 35 | 13.88 | 2022–2024 |
| Makoto Taniyama | 30 | 11.30 | 2022–2024 |
| Ibrahim Takahashi | 28 | 18.96 | 2022–2024 |
| Charles Hinze | 24 | 12.08 | 2024–2024 |
| Piyush Kumbhare | 24 | 12.45 | 2022–2024 |
T20I record versus other nations
Records complete to T20I #2895. Last updated 5 October 2024.
| Opponent | M | W | L | T | NR | First match | First win |
| vs Associate Members ||||||||
| Cambodia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 September 2023 | 27 September 2023 |
| China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 February 2024 | 15 February 2024 |
| Hong Kong | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 October 2023 | |
| Indonesia | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 October 2022 | 9 October 2022 |
| Maldives | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 February 2024 | 4 February 2024 |
| Mongolia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 May 2024 | 7 May 2024 |
| Papua New Guinea | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 July 2023 | |
| Philippines | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 July 2023 | 22 July 2023 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 February 2024 | |
| Singapore | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 February 2024 | |
| South Korea | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 October 2022 | 15 October 2022 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 February 2024 | 2 February 2024 |
| Vanuatu | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 July 2023 | 23 July 2023 |

### Other matches

For a list of selected international matches played by Japan, see Cricket Archive.