The Japan Cricket Podcast

It started with Japan Men's first ever T20 International, was followed by a series win, and ended with a first ICC tournament trophy in our hands in fifteen years! So naturally I was pretty excited to get Dhugal Bedingfield back on the pod to talk firstly about the three-match bilateral series against Indonesia, and then dissect the 2024 ICC World T20 East Asia Pacific Sub Regional Qualifier B win.We have 11 debuts to talk about, a first ever T20 century for Japan, a five-wicket haul on debut and much else besides. We were so excited we waffled on a bit longer than we intended, but hopefully you'll all enjoy it. Special thanks as always to (birthday boy) BRB Munde for the backing music, and of course to everyone who came out to support the team in person, and those who sent their best wishes from afar.

INTERNATIONAL CRICKET IS BACK IN JAPAN! We have only waited three and a half years for international cricket to resume in Japan, and almost four years for our men to take the field, so please forgive the excitement!   In the first of a series of short, unedited episodes over the coming weeks, I chat with the Japan Men's Team Head Coach about selecting a squad for the first time in so long and then the upcoming international series with Indonesia which starts on October 9th, followed by the T20 World Cup Qualifier being held in Sano from October 15-18. There's even a throwback to the series one jingles... If you don't already then now really is the time to follow, subscribe or whatever it is that you do on the Japan Social Media pages, here they are:   www.twitter.com/CricketJapan  www.facebook.com/cricketjapan  www.instagram.com/japan_cricket www.youtube.com/JapanCricket  There is also plenty of information on www.cricket.or.jp including post match reports plus schedules, announcements etc. 

My next guess is the new kid on the Japan Cricket scene. Born in Toyama but raised predominantly in New Zealand, Reo Sakurano-Thomas has been instrumental in the success Sano Cricket Club is enjoying this year, while he is also taking the game to the local community as part of his role with the Japan Cricket Association. We discuss all that, as well as the challenges around relocating to New Zealand as a five-year-old with no English, and then doing the reverse trip as a 22-year-old. He tells me all about his first impressions of cricket in Japan, both the club scene as well as his early training sessions with the Japan National Squad as well as his ambitions for both club and country. Before I speak to Reo I cover a fair bit in the domestic round up, wrapping the Japan Cup Regional Qualifiers as well as giving an update on the Japan Cricket League Divisions One, Two and Three. I cast my eye over the Under 19 and Under 15 leagues as well as the University Championships which concluded a short while ago. As ever thanks to BRB Munde for the tunes, and to everyone for tuning in. You can find the show on Instagram if you'd like to contact me, and you can leave a rating or review wherever you get your podcasts.

After a bit of a break the Japan Cricket Podcast returns with the recently appointed High Performance Coordinator, Ardene Ruhode; or Deano.  We chat about his early life in Zimbabwe, what the cricket pathway looks like over there and why he left to find opportunities elsewhere. It's a journey that has taken him to England and Scotland before almost five years in Australia coaching in a variety of places. Now Deano is part of the Japan Cricket community we discuss his expectations and hopes as well as a little about his personal interests and why he thinks Japan is the right place for him.  Before getting into the discussion I do a quick rundown of the JCL T20 which now has just Finals Day remaining, as well as summarise last weekend's Embassy Cup.  As always a special thanks to BRB Munde for the backing music, and if you'd like to leave a review or follow the show on Instagram then please do so. The Instagram page is right here.

A special episode as I am joined on the pod by current Panasonic Wild Knights Head of Rugby, Robbie Deans.  In this chat Robbie and I discuss all sorts, starting off with his upbringing in rural Canterbury and the importance that gave to community sport, being part of something bigger than yourself and the value of being in a team environment, all the way through to his time with the Wallabies, why he took that role and what he learnt by doing it.  Robbie also shares some incredible insights into how he as become one of the most successful rugby coaches of the modern era. He talks about the importance of players owning their own circumstances, how the brain is the most important muscle for any sportsperson as well as the importance of failure in ones development.  This was a really special chat, please do share it around on social media as I feel there is a lot here that people can learn from.  If you have time please give a rating or even write a review on wherever you get your podcasts, and of course you can follow the show on the instagram page. Thanks to BRB Munde for the musical accompaniment, and to Nick McCorriston for his help with production. 

A new competition starts on Saturday 13th August, the Japan Cricket League T20! 16 teams will battle it out and so I invited podcast regular Dhugal Bedingfield to come and chat about it. We run you through all the groups as well as make some wildly unscientific predictions, which will inevitably leave us with egg on our faces. Prior to that there's the usual JCL round up as well. As always if you have time to rate or review the show that would be great, or even just recommend it to one other person who might be interested, that'd be good too. You can follow the show on Instagram and you should also check out BRB Munde on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your tunes, big thanks to him for the backing music for the show.

Join me, Alan Curr, as I chat with Kazi Murad about his journey from Dhaka in Bangladesh to playing cricket in Japan. As a founding member of the Rising Stars Cricket Club who has been on the Japan Cricket scene for more than 15 years, Kazi shares his insights on how cricket has developed and how he thinks communities can assist in growing the sport. For those who like to skim through their podcasts, here's how the talk develops: Start - 04:00 Domestic Round Up 04:00 - 12:00 Growing up in Bangladesh 12:00 - 18:05  Move to Japan & Chiba Sharks 18:05 - 30:10 Rising Stars 30:10 - 34:50 Thoughts on Cricket in Japan 34:50 - 40:15 Cricket Questions 40:15 - End Japan Questions & Wrap Up As always if you have time to rate or review the show that would be great, or even just recommend it to one other person who might be interested, that'd be good too. You can follow the show on Instagram and you should also check out BRB Munde on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your tunes, big thanks to him for the backing music for the show.

On this episode I chat with one of the nicest people in Japan Cricket, Mai Yanagida. Listen to Mai discuss a cricket journey which has taken her to far flung places ranging from Bangladesh to Vanuatu via Scotland and most recently Sydney. We talk about her first impressions of the sport, how she balances a full time job with Hitachi and being a Japan National Squad Member.  Start - 4:40 Domestic Round Up 04:40 - 09:05 Early Life and Career 09:05 - 21:55 Cricket Development in Japan 21:55 - 37:00 International Cricket 37:00 - 39:05 Future Goals 39:05 - 45:35 Cricket Questions 45:35 - End Japan Questions  As always if you have time to rate or review the show that would be great, or even just recommend it to one other person who might be interested, that'd be good too. You can follow the show on Instagram and you should also check out BRB Munde on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your tunes, big thanks to him for the backing music for the show.

Last month Shizuka Miyaji became the first professionally contracted player to make an appearance in a franchise T20 League. The FairBreak Invitational 2022 took place in Dubai and I caught up with "Zu" to hear all about her experiences, the players she played against and alongside, what she learned and that MVP performance.  Following that we revisit how Zu got into cricket, the Bronze Medal at the 2010 Asian Games and where women's cricket in Japan goes from here.  For those who like to skim through, here's the breakdown: Start - 04:30: Domestic Round Up 04:30 - 22:00: FairBreak Invitational 22:00 - 25:40: Early Life 25:40 - 34:00: Cricket and Playing for Japan 34:00 - 37:47: Cricket Specific Questions 37:47 - Finish: Japan Specific Questions As always if you have time to rate or review the show that would be great, or even just recommend it to one other person who might be interested, that'd be good too. You can follow the show on Instagram and you should also check out BRB Munde on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you get your tunes, big thanks to him for the backing music for the show. 

Join me for a meandering discussion with Kris Bayne as we discuss his time as an umpire and how he came back to playing cricket at the age of fifty (50!). "KB" also talks about his early days in Japan, how he ended up here and how he has seen both the country and the cricket scene develop.  For those who like to skip through episodes here are the timings:  Start - 4:15 Domestic Round Up 4:15 - 5:40 International News 5:40 - 13:10 Early Life 13:10 - 15:50 Arrival in Japan 15:50 - 21:05 Japan Cricket early days 21:05 - 30:00 Chiba Sharks and restarting cricket at 50 30:00 - 35:30 Umpiring 35:30 - 42:55 Development of, and getting the most out of, cricket in Japan 42:55 - 51:42 Cricket Questions 51:42 - End Japan Questions If you have time please do follow the show on Instagram: www.instagram.com/japan_cricket_podcast, and feel free to message me there in the comments section for each episode, and if you have the time then a rating or review on whichever platform you listen would be much appreciated.