A South African enhance for girls’s cricket in Japan amidst the India vs South Africa Test sequence

It is just not usually that you’d discover cricket and Japan in the identical sentence. The recreation could have been launched to the locals by the British within the nineteenth century, nevertheless it hasn’t but fairly caught the creativeness of the individuals in certainly one of Asia’s sporting superpowers.

But, issues are altering. And you would see the change at Centurion this previous week. Three feminine cricketers educated on the SuperSport Park, forward of the inaugural version of the Global Cricket Tournament this week at Irene, close to Centurion.

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Akari Nishimura, Elena Kusuda and Erika Oda reached Centurion forward of Christmas and likewise watched the primary Test between South Africa and India. “It was great watching a Test in front of such a big crowd,” stated Elena. “Having grown up in Brisbane, I used to watch Tests at the Gabba.”

She is thrilled that she has develop into part of the brand new girls’s event in South Africa and is wanting ahead to the occasion that options stars of South African girls’s cricket like Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch and Masabata Klaas. “This is a big opportunity for us and women’s cricket in Japan,” she stated.

Like Elena, Erika too has watched Test cricket earlier than, in New Zealand. “I feel really lucky to be able to play cricket in such a wonderful facility here in South Africa, with great coaches, strength coaches, physios, everything,” he stated. “It is an incredible experience considering we are from a country where cricket is still developing.”

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The Japan Cricket Association (JCA) believes the event will now be quicker following the IOC’s determination to incorporate cricket within the 2028 Olympics. “It represents a major opportunity for cricket in Japan and we are excited about working with the Japan Olympic Council in the coming years,” stated Naoki Alex Miyaji, CEO, JCA.

Alan Curr, Head of Cricket Operations, JCA, stated the IOC’s determination helped the sport acquire extra consideration. “We have a wonderfully diverse cricket community,” he stated. “Women’s cricket in Japan perhaps peaked between 2008 and 2012 when we had a strong team and won bronze at the 2010 Asian Games.”