The Japan Cricket Podcast

Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming and Dhugal Bedingfield talk about the World Cup qualifier as a whole, and the future of Japan Cricket.

By popular demand, Ibby and Sabaorish join me on the podcast, recorded around two hours before the final game at the EAP Regional Final in Papua New Guinea.

Live from Amini Park before the clash with the Philippines I get two roommates to tell us about their PNG experience so far.

Scenic podcast alert! Coming direct from Loloata Island as the team enjoy a rest day, we here a bit about that but more about how two of the top performers at the Regional Final have performed so far.

Day Two in PNG and on the eve of Match One I have Reo Sakurano-Thomas to tell us how the team has trained, but not before the great Makoto Taniyama tells us a bit about how he became a leg spinner.

A short chat while at the gate with one of the players returning to the Japan Team, Muneeb Mian about his preparation for the World Cup Qualifier and what he’s excited about, as well as the feeling in the squad.

A quick chat with two of the Women's Japan National Squad members, Ahilya Chandel made her debut in 2022 while Elena Kusuda-Nairn played for the first time earlier this year. Both have joined a number of players flying into Japan from across the world to take part in the inaugural Women's Japan Premier League (WJPL). We discuss the tournament happening this weekend as well as their upbringings and...

It's a case of back to the future on this episode as I am joined by former Japan Under 19 captain Marcus Thurgate, and current captain Koji Hardgrave-Abe to talk about the recent World Cup Qualifier in Darwin. Marcys relives some of his experiences and compares them to what we witnessed in the early part of June, while Koji gives us the inside view of how things came together. At the end of th...

Jenny Thompson is the envy of most cricket fans right now, as she travels the globe playing cricket in as many countries as she can possibly get to. She visited in Japan in late April and took in the surroundings of Sano and the SICG, as well as travelled to Nagasawa to play a match in the Japan Women's Cricket League. On this episode I catch up with Jenny a couple of months after her visit to...

The sakura is out and the new cricket season is almost upon us! The Japan Cricket League will kick things off this Saturday and I am joined by Commuhnity Cricket Manager and regular guest on the show Dhugal Bedingfield to make a few wild predictions which will inevitably be horribly wide of the mark. We'll also chat briefly about Dhugal's other role as Head Coach of the Men's Japan National Squad...

Welcome to the final episode of Season Two! On this extended episode I wrap up the season, going back to competitions that finished as long ago as August such is how far behind I've got!  To go through everything I am joined by three of the Japan Cricket Associations finest in Dhugal Bedingfield, Deano Ruhode and Reo Sakurano-Thomas. The boys give their thoughts on an array of competitions, f...

Welcome to groundsman extraordinaire, Todd Luckhurst! In a quick chat in the stands at the SICG during the Men’s East Asia Qualifier back in October. It’s a short episode and I apologise for the sound quality, first show recorded by phone….probably not a long term strategy.

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...

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 lon...

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 Zeal...

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 variet...

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 Wallabie...

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...

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 podcas...

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 Domes...

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...

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...

After a short break the Japan Cricket Pod returns with a fascinating chat with Alex Shirai-Patmore who was recently recalled to the Japan National Squad after an eight-year absence. This interview was done before that recall and you can hear Alex discuss his early cricketing experiences in the UK and playing with and against some of the best English players of this current generation, as well as h...

Welcome to another episode of the Japan Cricket Podcast! This week I am joined again by Dhugal Bedingfield, this time to discuss the recently completed Japan Futures League as well as the upcoming Japan Premier League which starts this Friday, 29th April.   There's also news of a career best score from one of Japan's finest in the JCL Division One, albeit in a losing cause, and a first w...

This week we have four centuries and a five-fer to cover in the round up, before getting into a great conversation with Gurdeep Dua, founder of a genuine Super Club in Japan: the Men In Blue. As always I discuss where Gurdeep grew up and how his love of cricket developed, as well as how he ended up in Japan, before getting into detail about how the club was formed and then developed into the force...