Japan Cricket Association (JCA) chief operating officer Alan Curr hopes India’s historic T20I against Japan can help take cricket to a wider audience in a country where the sport is still largely unfamiliar to local fans.
ICC Men’s T20 world champions India will face Japan in their first-ever T20I at the Sano International Cricket Ground on Tuesday. The match will be broadcast live on FanCode.
“The boys are excited. An opportunity like this doesn’t come around very often for us,” Curr was quoted as saying by PTI on Sunday.
For Japan, the match is about more than facing one of the world’s leading cricket teams. The JCA hopes India’s visit can open the door to more international teams playing in the country.
“We’re trying to take all of this as part of the steps we’re taking to try and do that,” Curr said.
The match has already attracted attention from the Japanese media, something Curr sees as an important first step. “In terms of the mainstream in Japan, it’s certainly piquing interest. It’s easy to say that the reigning world champions are coming to Japan to play against our team. But we’ve still got a long way to go,” he said.
PREPARING FOR INDIA
The JCA has had to make significant changes to the Sano ground, which normally has permanent seating for around 500 spectators.
Temporary stands, VIP areas and ticket gates have been added, while security arrangements have also been strengthened. The association has brought in a security consultant from England who has worked at World Cups, The Hundred and events involving India.
“We are taking all of this very seriously, and I think it’s really important for us to show that we have the capacity to handle something like this,” Curr said.
The weather is another concern, with a typhoon currently threatening parts of Japan.
“Right now, success will be getting a game on. I’m not going to lie, there is a gigantic typhoon just to the south of Japan right now, so that’s the concern,” Curr said.
Still, Curr believes the India visit has already given Japanese cricket a lift.
“I think a lot of the success has almost already happened. The fact that India has agreed to come, the fact that I’m sitting here talking to you guys, the fact that there’s already a lot of Japanese media coming tomorrow to find out more about this game and about the sport – I think success is already here,” he said.
INDIA VISIT YEARS IN MAKING
India’s visit is the result of a longer effort by the JCA to improve its facilities and attract leading cricket nations to Sano. The association relaid the ground’s turf square in March using the same clay used for the Asian Games facility in Nagoya.
Curr said the plan was to create a venue that could host international teams and also serve as a training base for sides visiting Japan. “We were quite keen to try and host the Asian Games here, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. So, finding reasons to attract full members to come here became important,” he said.
“Once we had the pitch laid in March this year, we started preparing a proposal to send out to all the full members.” That proposal eventually reached the BCCI, with Curr saying discussions moved quickly after the board received it.
CRICKET SLOWLY GROWING
Japan’s registered player base has grown considerably over the past decade. Curr said the number has increased from around 3,000 when he joined the JCA in 2014 to about 8,800 now.
The Japan Cup, the country’s regional T20 competition, has grown to more than 80 teams, while the Japan Cricket League has four divisions and more than 30 teams.
But cricket remains some way from becoming a mainstream sport in Japan.
“Cricket doesn’t really feature in the national sports scene right now. It’s a curiosity more than something that’s avidly followed and watched by the bulk of Japanese sports fans. We are trying to change that,” Curr said.
One of the biggest challenges is getting cricket into schools. The sport has a limited presence in Japan’s established school sports system.
“At the moment, cricket isn’t really on the menu. We’ve got a handful of schools that offer cricket, and so until we can get cricket into that system, it’s going to be difficult,” he said.
ASIAN GAMES BOOST
Curr believes the Asian Games can also help cricket find a larger audience in Japan. “The Asian Games are so entrenched in the Japanese sporting psyche. People understand exactly what the Asian Games are, in the same way they understand the Olympics.
“So cricket being part of these sporting events gives the sport a legitimacy that it didn’t have before. That makes it more visible,” he said.
For Japan, Tuesday’s match is therefore not simply about the result. The JCA wants to use the occasion to introduce more people to the sport and show what Japanese cricket has been building over the years.
“We want to show that cricket is a sport that is played hard, but is also accessible and friendly to be involved with. We want cricket to be fun,” Curr said.
“It would be a great success to not have to see those kinds of comments about how shocked people are that Japan even plays cricket, because we’ve been playing cricket for a very long time.
“There’s been an awful lot going on in the background of Japan cricket for many, many years, and it’s great now that we are above sea level, I guess, and we’re actually visible to a few more people. We hope that continues.”
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