TOKYO — Cricket is barely on the radar in Japan, where baseball, soccer and sumo wrestling dominate the sporting landscape, but all that could be about to change after its under-19 (U-19) team qualified for the World Cup in South Africa. It is early days yet, of course, with the Japanese Cricket Association (JCA) founded in 1984 and made an ICC member only in 1995. The U-19 side was founded in 2017 and took part in 2019's East-Asia Pacific qualifying tournament to get some practice. After a 170-run win over Samoa in their opener, however, they went undefeated to book their place in the U-19 World Cup, which starts on Friday. The team includes five players of Indian origin and several with mixed heritage, reflecting Japan's slowly increasing cultural diversity.

Source: International New York Times January 16, 2020 06:33 UTC