The Women’s Japan Under 19 team completed the ACC Women’s Under 19 Premier Cup in Malaysia with a fighting defeat to Nepal at the Quarter Final stage.
The team, playing in their first ever tournament, ended with one win (against Myanmar) and two losses (against Thailand and Nepal).
The main highlight for the tour was the batting of captain Bianca Shino-Dyson who made 112 runs in her three innings, including a brilliant half century in the first match, and was only dismissed once.
Elsewhere bowlers Natsume Wada-Macdonald (three for 14 from four overs vs Thailand) and Mamta Kaswan (one for 11 from four overs vs Nepal) both showed that Japan has players who can compete with the best.
Head Coach Vinay Iyer said: “We are proud of each and every one of the players and how they have done in this tournament. They are learning well and now their development will require more games and experiences like this.”
One highlight was seeing three players from the Japan Sports Council program “J-Star” all come into the team with Mio Akizuki & Kicho Suzuki playing every game while Kate Tai also featured against Thailand to demonstrate the potential the programme has to provide talented athletes the opportunity to try new sports and progress to the international stage.
Congratulations to the team on reaching the Quarter Finals and we look forward to a bright future for Japan’s newest international team.
