It is not often that you would find cricket and Japan in the same sentence. The game may have been introduced to the locals by the British in the 19th century, but it hasn’t yet quite caught the imagination of the people of a country that is one of Asia’s sporting superpowers.
But, things are changing. And you could see the change at Centurion this past week. Three female cricketers trained at the SuperSport Park, ahead of the inaugural edition of the Global Cricket Tournament this week at Irene, near Centurion.
Akari Nishimura, Elena Kusuda and Erika Oda reached Centurion ahead of Christmas and also watched the first Test between South Africa and India. “It was great watching a Test in front of such a big crowd,” said Elena. “Having grown up in Brisbane, I used to watch Tests at the Gabba.” She is thrilled that she has become a part of the new women’s tournament in South Africa and is looking forward to the event that features stars of South African women’s cricket like Sune Luus, Anneke Bosch and Masabata Klaas. “This is a big opportunity for us and women’s cricket in Japan,” she said.
