Japan Earn Historic Won Over PNG

The Men’s Japan National Team secured an historic 26-run win over perennial champions Papua New Guinea at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Sano.

The win is Japan’s best ever result since the rankings began, with PNG ranked 22nd, but was ultimately not enough to overhaul the islanders at the top of the table following their strong results against other teams in the tournament.

Both teams finish on 8 points and will eagerly await a decision from the ICC about how many teams move through to the next stage of World Cup Qualification, and what that stage looks like.

The win was set up by a captains knock of 45 off 33 balls by captain Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming as the team battled to 121 for seven from the 20 overs. The Japan bowlers then applied the squeeze as Reo Sakurano-Thomas once again made an early breakthrough before the spin set in.

Two moments of inspiration defined the game, firstly an outrageous boundary catch by Ibby Takahashi to remove the dangerous Patrick Nou before Wateru Miyauchi produced a direct hit run out to send Asad Vala packing as Japan turned the screws.

The win was eventually secured as PNG ended their innings 95 for eight as the curtain came down on an exciting tournament.

The Japan team would like to thank all the support, both at home and from around the world.