Cricket Taught Me Everything

Cricket is a globally popular sport that boasts a very large playing population. I first encountered it in the UK as a child when my Scottish mother took me, and since I was good at baseball and soccer, I was fairly skilled from the start. I think it is an easy sport for beginners to get into, but it is a minor sport in Japan and there are not many places where you can play.

It is often said to be similar to baseball, but the rules are quite different, aren't they?

Cricket is a team sport played 11-on-11.

Like in baseball, a batter hits a one-bounce ball thrown by a pitcher (bowler) with a bat shaped like a wooden paddle, but the batter hits it back to prevent a gate-shaped wooden structure called a "wicket" from being knocked down. While fielders other than the bowler and the catcher (wicketkeeper) chase the ball on an oval ground, two batters (the striker and non-striker) run back and forth between the two wickets in a zone called the "crease." One run is scored each time the two runners cross the crease, and if the wicket is knocked down by a fielder's return throw, the batter is out.

When 10 batters are out or the prescribed number of deliveries is reached, the teams switch between offense and defense, and the side with the most runs wins.

Unlike baseball, there is no foul zone on the ground, and batters can hit the ball in all 360 degrees. The boundary of the ground is called the "boundary"; if the ball crosses it without bouncing, it is a "six" (6 runs), and if it crosses after bouncing, it is a "four" (4 runs). There are professional leagues in many countries, including the UK and India, and it gets very exciting when high-scoring plays happen in large stadiums.

Even though it is a sport with enthusiastic fans all over the world, there were almost no opportunities to play it in Japan until entering university.

All three of us here today are alumni of the Keio University Cricket Club, which is an officially authorized student club, but why did you two join in the first place?

Because the senior student who recruited me was a very lovely woman (laughs). But at the time, I was a member of several other clubs and was a "ghost member" for a while.

The trigger for starting seriously was that I ended up becoming the chairperson of the Kanto University Cricket Association. There were only a few Keio members in each year, and the number of teams among Kanto universities was limited. I thought it would be uncool to be the chairperson but bad at cricket, so I started practicing seriously, won the Champions Wicket (the national student championship), and even became a member of the Japan national student team.

Mr. Hatanaka, you were also volunteering for the Japan Cricket Association (JCA) at that time, weren't you?

Kenichiro Matsumura, an alumnus of Chuo University who was the representative of the "Recreational Cricket Association" and served as the first executive director when he established the Japan Cricket Association, asked me to "help with promotional activities." That led to my involvement in the management of the JCA.

That was because you could speak English, Hatanaka-san. Like me, the skill to communicate with people from overseas is highly valued.

As a member organization of the international federation, the JCA was receiving an annual subsidy of about 1 million yen from the International Cricket Council (ICC) at the time. We were told that if we were upgraded to "Associate Membership" among the member organizations of each country, the amount would increase more than tenfold, so I rushed around to fulfill various requirements.

What kind of requirements were there?

We did things like setting up a ground large enough for international tournaments, pitching to overseas organizations to host tournaments, and building a track record of the Japan national team participating in international competitions. As a result, the JCA was upgraded to Associate status and was able to hire staff, and I asked Mr. Miyaji to serve as the CEO (General Manager).

Establishing a track record of international tournament participation for the women's national team and setting up a national team strengthening program were also among the requirements. At that time, we were able to invite Katrina Keenan, a former New Zealand representative and World Cup winning member, as the women's national team coach. It was a time when opportunities for overseas tours increased and the women's national team was getting stronger, and Nakayama-san, you were one of the members, weren't you?

Ayako-san, why did you start playing cricket?

I started seriously at the Keio Cricket Club, but the first time I played was when I was in elementary school. I remember learning cricket from a teacher who came from Australia or New Zealand in a school international understanding class program, and it was very fun. When I got to university, I wanted to try a minor sport that other people didn't do, and as soon as I discovered the name of the cricket club, I decided to join.

Wasn't the cricket you played at university different from what you experienced in elementary school? For example, the hardness of the ball.

At university, they first let me play with a soft ball like the ones used in promotional activities and a plastic bat. It was very fun to hit the ball well (the rule is that the batter doesn't switch until they are out), so I decided to commit to it seriously at university.

Ayako-san, during your time on the Japan national team, you were very active as a spinner (a breaking ball bowler) who could bowl leg spin (a rotation where the ball bounces outward after one bounce). What made you become a bowler?

Both bowling and batting were fun, so there wasn't any particular trigger, but...

You bowl with a form where you turn your wrist slightly inward, don't you? When I first saw Ayako-san play during a women's national team practice, I felt that it was a way of bowling that would apply a lot of spin.

Perhaps because I used to play badminton, my ball has a habit of curving a little. For my part, I intended to bowl straight, but... It started when someone said to me during my third or fourth year of university, "Why don't you try bowling spin too?"

In other ball games, those kinds of habits tend to be corrected, but in cricket, being able to bowl spin becomes a strength for a bowler. And then you made it onto the Japan national team and even held the record for the most wickets taken.

I only found that out later. In 2022, I heard that a certain player had taken the "most wickets" (the record for most wickets taken), and when I asked people around me, "Whose record did they break?", I found out for the first time that I had held the record (laughs).

Until around when did you play for the women's national team?

Until 2017. Even after completing my master's course at the Graduate School of Science and Technology in 2012, I continued to compete as a working-adult athlete for about five years.

Many of the members who participated in the 2014 Incheon Asian Games retired early, but Ayako-san, you continued for about three years after that. Wasn't it difficult to balance it with work?

Actually, my research in the master's course was busier. I was at the university from morning until night, regardless of whether it was Saturday or Sunday. As a working adult, I could manage things myself within the range allowed by the company, so it was easier to do than during my student days.

Was the time you were most involved in cricket during your graduate school days, Hatanaka-san?

That's right. The laboratory I belonged to in the Department of Chemistry at the Keio Faculty of Science and Technology had a lot of experiments, and I felt a sense of crisis that this would interfere with my JCA activities (laughs). At the time, I wanted to somehow get the management of the Cricket Association on track, but if I skipped the lab, I would get scolded. Thinking that I wouldn't be able to go on tours at this rate, I moved to the graduate school at the University of Tokyo in order to continue my cricket work.

The lab at the University of Tokyo was conducting research using supercomputers, and once you set a difficult program, there is nothing to do for a while. I intentionally created complex programs so that I could lead tours and such.

Everyone was creating opportunities like that. My true motivation for studying abroad at the LSE (London School of Economics) was also cricket.

Cricket is a global sport, so it has the potential to go mainstream in Japan if we work hard. I feel that the spirit of carving out a path and the methods of practice significantly trained me for later managing a startup in a niche business.

Hatanaka-san, your enthusiasm far exceeded the level of a volunteer.

I approached it as if I were managing a business. The reason I rented an office, created a seat for a full-time CEO (General Manager), and even hired part-time workers was because I felt a sense of mission. I also considered continuing as a full-time employee in the JCA secretariat after finishing my master's course, but by then my interest had turned toward management, so I passed the baton to Naoki-san.

Since you were involved to that extent, you must have been attracted to the fun of the sport as well. What parts did you find interesting?

The fact that you can play by calculating physically. I am a scientist at heart, so I often thought about things like, "If I bowl at this speed and angle, the ball will probably bounce like this over there." Cricket is interesting because it has high reproducibility, and by the time I was on the student national team, I was able to bowl to the same spot almost 100% of the time.

That skill is also amazing.

Were you mainly a bowler?

Batters are finished as soon as they get out, so I didn't find it very interesting. My body is stiff, so I was bad at batting to begin with.

Even for those with baseball experience, cricket batting takes some getting used to, doesn't it?

It's difficult to step out toward the ball.

It's similar to a golf swing, but in cricket, you hit the ball by drawing it close to your body.

So all three of us were bowlers during our active days.

Bowlers can practice bowling alone in parks and such. Batting practice doesn't work that way. I feel that the reason there are many excellent bowlers in Japan is partly due to the practice environment.

That's right. Opportunities for batting practice are few, and it doesn't count as practice unless a bowler with high reproducibility bowls to you, so when I was involved in the management of the association, I used a subsidy to purchase two Australian-made bowling machines and put them in the Fuji Cricket Ground.

Now that cricket grounds have been built, the environment has improved, but in the past, there were few places where you could practice on a flat pitch, weren't there?

The university had an artificial turf pitch, but Ayako-san, you suddenly played on a turf pitch (natural grass) in an international match. Do you remember that time?

The grain of the grass was very beautiful, and I thought, "The home of the sport is indeed different." A turf pitch requires completely hardening the soil to create the surface, so it also costs money for maintenance. Japanese grounds just have artificial turf pasted on top of concrete, so the way the ball bounced was completely different to begin with.

A turf pitch is advantageous for bowlers. Batters would also be confused by the ball from a spinner like Ayako-san.

I don't like turf pitches because they have low reproducibility.

That's speaking as a scientist, I see (laughs).

Exactly. Concrete is easy to bowl on because it isn't affected by the condition of the grass, but on turf, the way it bounces changes depending on the maintenance, so I thought, "You've got to be kidding me" (laughs).

Hatanaka-san, what kind of places did you go to on tours?

First, I went to India for an ICC meeting. It was a surreal situation where I was the only student among a gathering of distinguished elderly men representing various countries, and I remember being warmly welcomed.

I thought, "International sports are amazing." After all, the Indian Minister of Agriculture was sitting next to me (laughs). He greeted me saying, "I'm running in the presidential election, so please support me," and people from the Japanese Embassy in India were surprised, asking, "Why are you able to meet someone we can't even get an appointment with?" It might have been because of such shocking experiences that I became so deeply involved in the work of the association.

That is a precious experience.

Regarding matches, we were putting our energy into women's tours. This was because there weren't many student players among the men at the time, making it difficult to organize tours. For the women's national team, we were able to form a team centered around students, and we could expect results from the tours.

If it became recognized that women could also play, the market would double, so that was a key point for our promotion activities. It was also a big help that Katrina, a former New Zealand representative, said she wanted to cooperate with Japanese cricket. We poured the association's energy into the women's national team—organizing tours, making uniforms, and fundraising.

That was around the time the women's team got a sponsor for the first time, wasn't it? Those movements and the timing of welcoming star players as coaches matched up perfectly. The players also worked hard, winning a bronze medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and our ranking rose to 13th.

At that time, there was also the great achievement of defeating a powerhouse like Zimbabwe. Ayako-san, you were a member of that national team, weren't you?

That's right. Being able to fight against powerhouses like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe was a precious opportunity, but personally, playing as a representative of Japan while so many famous athletes from other sports gathered at the Asian Games was a huge experience.

That's the best part of a multi-sport event like the Asian Games where athletes from various disciplines gather. Are there any countries among your tour destinations that left a strong impression?

Samoa and Vanuatu. Oceania is a region that is difficult to visit on a personal trip, and I had rare experiences in countries with different cultures and environments. I remember the sea being very beautiful.

Even though the players were working hard, the association couldn't give back in the form of rewards or fame, so I wanted to at least give the players interesting experiences through international exchange and overseas tours. I think cricket is one of the few sports that can provide opportunities to meet people and visit countries you rarely get to go to. Since it's a major sport overseas, if you say you're from the Japan national team, you're welcomed locally. I've even been asked for my autograph before (laughs).

What was a memorable experience for you, Hatanaka-san?

I was surprised to find a temple dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar, the most famous batter in India. During India vs. Pakistan matches, both countries observe a truce; that shows just how special cricket is, doesn't it?

But things have changed a bit recently. It's true that cricket was once said to be a catalyst for reconciliation between the two countries, but now I feel politics is becoming too involved.

Even at the Men's World Cup this February, there was an incident where a match was almost boycotted due to political intervention. Sports should have the role of building bridges between nations as a neutral culture, so I hope it regains that role.

I agree. Cricket spread widely in India because it allowed British and Indian people to be equals once they stepped onto the ground, regardless of colony or sovereign state. I think there is great meaning in being able to create flat relationships between countries through sports.

I saw a trailer about 10 years ago and I'm not sure if it was ever released in Japan, but a movie about Indian cricket looked very interesting. It's a work that depicts the episode that triggered cricket becoming a national sport.

According to my memory at the time, it was said that India had achieved independence three times. The first was when they gained political independence from Britain. The second was when they achieved economic development. The third was when they defeated the England national team at Lord's Cricket Ground in Britain, the home of cricket.

In the clubhouse of a cricket ground where you usually can't enter without a tie, the Indians at that time were reportedly shirtless, swinging their shirts around in joy. The Indian people, who won with a strong sense of identity at the home of the sport Britain is best at, express it as, "If you cut my body, the blue blood of the Indian national team will come out." It's said that India has various cultures and religions, and the reason such a country is united is because of cricket, and I was made to think that might not be an exaggeration.

Even in Japanese curry shops, there are staff members who are enthusiastic cricket fans. If you say, "I play cricket," you can become friends. It's a rare sport that allows access to international communities that you usually don't have the chance to interact with.

Recently, players from India have started appearing domestically in women's cricket as well. Ayako-san, did you have any connections with foreign players during your active years?

Hardly any, except during tours. To begin with, there are very few women's teams compared to men's, right? Even in Asia, the image of it being a male sport is still strong. While women's teams in India and Pakistan are strong, I don't think they have the same level of enthusiasm as the men.

Katrina also said that even though she won the World Cup, she couldn't make a living from cricket alone. There were few places to work other than organizations like the national cricket association, and she said continuing a career as a player was quite tough.

I heard that the Pakistan women's national team, who won the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, had stones thrown at them at the airport with people saying "women shouldn't play sports," but I feel that situation is changing. In the Indian Premier League, the WPL (Women’s Premier League) was organized in 2022, and there are women's leagues in England's "The Hundred" and Australia's "Big Bash."

The current British Ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom, served as a director of the JCA when she was a minister, and her daughter, Nat Sciver-Brunt, is now the captain of the England women's national team. She's such a star player that she reportedly earns tens of millions of yen in a single month in the WPL.

With the birth of professional leagues, opportunities for women to excel have increased, and they can earn more money than in other sports. It feels like the environment has changed significantly. Especially within India, women's cricket is attracting attention and growing rapidly.

Cricket is popular among women in Britain and Australia, but I felt a difference in places like India due to religious factors. However, recently, by having players from various countries gather in each country's professional league, it's changing into a sport where you can earn money.

Cricket has been officially adopted as an event for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Why was it chosen, even though cricket isn't that popular in the US?

I see the broad perspective of Americans there. In terms of business, such as broadcasting rights and acquiring sponsors, the people in the US probably realized that cricket is a globally large-scale sport with potential for significant revenue.

I was so shocked that it wasn't adopted for the 2012 London Olympics, so I was surprised to learn it would be adopted in Los Angeles.

Major League Cricket was born in the US in 2023. This is backed by the fact that many immigrants from South Asia are familiar with cricket. South Asia is said to have a population of 2.5 billion, and the merit of focusing on a sport popular in this region must be very large.

Both Microsoft and Alphabet (Google) in the US currently have Indian CEOs, and there's a movement where Indian people who have succeeded in the US are bringing in engineers from their home country to start businesses and giving them full support. The Indian community has very strong ties, and Microsoft announced it would build a cricket stadium in Seattle. I think the ICC is also looking at the US sports market with great interest.

Major League Cricket is operated by an organization separate from the US Cricket Association. For example, the Washington Capitals are owned by the Delhi Capitals, and the New York team is owned by the Mumbai Indians—most teams are owned by IPL (Indian Premier League) teams.

And state associations from Australia and New Zealand are heavily involved in the operation of those teams. Players who used to play in South Africa or those who retired from top leagues are gathering from all over the world, which is a very interesting movement.

There's an abundance of player and coach resources. Unlike the lack of second-career options for Japanese professional baseball players, an important background is that there are mountains of people all over the world who want to receive coaching.

It's very gratifying that Indian people living in Japan are increasingly forming teams. If we can create an environment where not only the teams get stronger but children and women can also enjoy playing, it will become a huge power. I want them to use the power of the community to bring Japanese cricket to a high level.

Actually, promising players are emerging from that, and in last year's World Cup qualifiers, the U19 Men's Japan National Team won the East Asia-Pacific qualifiers and achieved their second World Cup appearance. The parents of the player who served as the captain of this team are from India. He himself was born in India but later naturalized. Now, that second generation is working hard as players.

I believe cricket becomes a passport when Japan considers internal internationalization. Since India's population is expected to exceed China's in the future, if you have cricket friends, you'll be able to start various things all over the world.

In Sano City, Tochigi Prefecture, and Akishima City, Tokyo, town development through cricket has been going on for many years, and now the second generation is reaching university graduation age. They are a generation that played in a relatively better environment than the first generation. The players from Sano City who participated in the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup have gone on to university, and I am convinced that the worldview they were exposed to through cricket will surely be a great strength when they enter society in the future.

Hatanaka-san, you are currently a bit distanced from cricket, but how is your experience in cricket being utilized in your involvement with the digital transformation of government administration?

I have been involved in government border measures and disaster medicine, so while planning the post-entry management of foreigners and the development of the Emergency Medical Information System (EMIS) at an upstream level, I have always said, "Let's be conscious of foreigners, including short-term stayers." Estimates show that the population of short-term stayers will eventually exceed the population of Kumamoto Prefecture, and since those people don't have a registered address, the government will have to take care of them if something happens. Thinking that way, wouldn't it be better to consider foreigners as 'second citizens' and respond appropriately?

We Japanese are also allowed to stay in foreign countries, and we'd want the governments of those countries to value us, right? Aside from the discussion of whether to increase immigrants, I think we must have such a policy as a national foundation. I am conscious that a system that can properly accept people who are here now and those who will come in the future is necessary for our connection with the world.

I believe that way of thinking was cultivated through cricket.

Japanese society has a kind side for people born and raised in this country, but it feels difficult to access for those who aren't. It's even difficult for foreigners to sign up for insurance.

That's true. I think there are conditions everywhere where people of foreign nationality are not treated equally, even if they have permanent residency.

Among the companies supporting cricket, there are companies providing lifestyle services for foreigners, but generally, the hurdles for things like contracting a mobile phone, renting a house, or opening an account are high. These are procedures where if you can't do one, you can't do the others. It's quite hard for someone coming from abroad to start from zero.

I feel it ultimately comes down to not knowing the world outside. If your own children or relatives were living abroad, you'd want them to be treated as safely, securely, and equally as possible, right? If you don't have that perspective, you end up creating the exact opposite environment. If we don't have a fair perspective, Japan will become even more difficult to live in.

In that sense, I hope cricket becomes a catalyst for taking an interest in foreign cultures. I also want the cricket community to be a place where people from overseas can understand Japan. Cricket has the potential to play such a bidirectional role.

Since my student days, I've thought that cricket could be a means of grassroots diplomacy. At that time, I was conscious of India, but in a time when we need to connect more internationally, being involved in sports should make it easier to adapt to each other.

In that sense, Sri Lanka is interesting right now. Through an introduction from the Japanese Embassy in Sri Lanka, we received a proposal to increase the ways they support Japan, and Sri Lanka, which has experience winning the World Cup, decided to support Japanese cricket. We have now formed a partnership with the cricket association over there.

Actually, there are many pro-Japan people in Sri Lanka, and when you go there, you feel that everyone has a favorable impression of Japan. The fact that Sri Lanka is supporting Japanese cricket should be a source of pride for them as well. We are exchanging in various aspects, including not only players but also coaches and groundsmen, and they have dispatched groundsmen to help create the cricket ground for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi this September.

This year's Asian Games is a rare opportunity to see top-level players in Japan, so I'm looking forward to it too. It seems like it will be good publicity for cricket.

India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are all coming. It's a unique opportunity to see the play of world-class countries that have even won the World Cup. It was suddenly decided last July that cricket would be an official event, and the people of Nisshin City, which will be the venue, have become very enthusiastic, deciding to introduce cricket in all junior high schools in the city.

Will a venue like a stadium be prepared?

Three baseball fields will be combined and prepared as a cricket ground. Since it's a temporary stand, the capacity might not be large. I recommend buying tickets early.

Since I'm going, I'd like to watch from the VIP seats.

There might not be VIP seats (laughs). It's true that top-league matches in places like India fill huge stadiums with massive crowds. Hatanaka-san, please come as well.

I'll go. I stopped being involved in cricket as soon as I entered the workforce, but today I remembered my roots. Back then, I used to go to the Fuji Cricket Ground on weekends and spend the whole time mowing the grass with the owner of the inn and a New Zealander from the local area. Cricketers from all over Japan gathered there.

While there were few local governments willing to listen, Sano City was the first to take notice and support us, and later, Akishima City, Sanmu City in Chiba Prefecture, Watari Town in Miyagi Prefecture, and Kaizuka City in Osaka Prefecture provided grounds or allowed us to visit schools. The playing population has increased from about 660 in 2002 to 7,300 now (2025). I feel that our steady efforts so far are bearing fruit.

The JCA has set "Blooming" as the catchphrase for its five-year strategy through 2027. With the Asian Games and the Los Angeles Olympics as a tailwind, I want to speed up development toward "Full Bloom." Hatanaka-san, have you ever been to the Sano International Cricket Ground?

I might have gone right after it was completed.

It's a ground with a beautiful turf pitch, and overseas players say it's wonderful. Authentic cricket grounds are also being born in Nagoya and Osaka, so I want to hold more international matches and professional matches.

I spent 12 years as a businessman and the next 12 years working in public and administrative roles, but I actually haven't decided on the next 12 years. I've started wanting to return to cricket and resume activities that connect with the world. Actually, I've had thoughts of participating in cricket as a sponsor before, but I kept my distance because I felt I couldn't be involved halfway.

When intense passion comes out, it's hard to be involved on the side, isn't it? The people who led cricket during their student days must have gained social experience by now, and there are many people like Ayako-san who have experienced raising children. I want those people to get involved in cricket again too.

We are trying to revive social cricket venues in Tokyo now, and the environment for companies to get involved is also being prepared. There are ways to be involved in various capacities such as volunteers, coaches, instructors, and scorers. We are also trying to create a new organization called an advisory board for association management.

I definitely want both of you, who have experience in cricket, to get involved again. Let's build excitement together.

I want to go watch a match with my children. In Japan, many people's experience with sports ends with school club activities, but overseas, there are local cricket clubs. In those clubs, three generations—from grandfathers to children—enjoy the game together.

The value of sports as a bridge to the world and its open, egalitarian culture are things that never change. Recently, I feel that the phase of promotional activities within Japan is also shifting. Buds are starting to sprout in various places, and I think this is a chance for the positioning of cricket to change.

I thought of a "point-based strategy" flow where we create a strong national team that everyone admires, which then attracts sponsors. However, I think Mr. Miyaji is a person of a "surface-based strategy," starting from the soil, so to speak, to make it bloom. The approach of taking root and spreading in the community as a community sport is a contrast to my reforestation-like approach of planting a strong symbol and proceeding with selection and concentration around it.

But both are very necessary, aren't they? I think cricket is a sport where it is difficult to achieve success in a short period, but as you aimed for, Mr. Hatanaka, I believe a strong national team is also necessary to get people to know about it.

That's true. Taking the time to create a culture and environment is an interesting area that requires a long-term strategy.

There are many challenges, but the cricket community is a place to enjoy challenges and is full of potential to spread new things. We will continue to do our best, so please keep an eye on Japanese cricket.