Japan National Women's Squad

Photo © ICC

Recently I spent four days in Japan assisting with the preparation of the Japanese Women's team for the upcoming World Cup Qualifier in Holland. The entire experience was enormously rewarding, with the support and enthusiasm of those involved in Japan cricket inspirational.

The squad has been training for over 30 weeks every Saturday and Sunday with an aim to qualify for next years world cup. The coaches of the team of which there are several, have drilled the women well, with most having excellent front foot batting techniques and good skills in most areas.

My role was too introduce the team to new initiatives, help develop their weaknesses, introduce some game sense approaches and maintain the areas that were already strong.

In a sense this proved a little frustrating as the first day proved a little awkward, with slow interpretation and reticence from the coach to explore new ideas. The next day was a completely different story, with many new concepts explored and a greater concentration on applying skills to game situations.

The women were very friendly and extremely hard working. If there hadn't been enforced breaks for drinks and lunch they wouldn't have stopped at all. This is despite the temperatures being quite warm.

The squad is now in the final stages of training for the tournament and has been concentrating heavily on improving their deficiencies, which include out fielding, running between wickets and back foot shots.

I will now be accompanying the team as the coaching advisor and developing their game approach, including strategies, field settings etc as well as some technical work during the competition. The challenge will be to free the girls up to play instinctively, when their approach is very technical minded. They have a couple of significant positives that can be used to their advantage. They all get along well and share a real enthusiasm for the game and each others successes, they are in the main extremely agile, which should aid running between wickets and close to the wicket ground fielding and they are again in the main very brave.

The team has three days in Holland to prepare and much of that time will be spent familiarizing their game with turf wickets, different outfields and game plans for various situations. From there it is in to a series of matches beginning on the 21st of July against Pakistan.

Six teams make up the draw, with one team to proceed to the World Cup. The other nations involved are West Indies, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. Without knowing much about the opposition, it could be assumed that both Pakistan and the West Indies would be strong as they have extensive cricket cultures and world-class men's competition. Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands have all got reasonably competitive men's teams at International level and would provide the next tier of competition.

I have provided readers with a list of the players in the squad and their particular skills to help follow their progress during the tournament.

Khoria - Captain. Quite powerful batter and a very good bowler.

Ritchico - Very brave batter and fielder. Very good runner and excellent throwing arm. Bowling is quite consistent.

Mitchiko -Fast slinging type bowler. Could be a dangerous bat as she is aggressive

Erico - Very good consistent bowler. Tries hard with the bat.

Izumi - Plays the cross batted shots naturally. For tall player has potential for great range of shots. Second keeper.

Marisumi - Clean fielder, potential partnership breaker.

Aya - Beautiful bowling action and has ability to swing balls both ways. Very brave fielder.

Mo Mo - Exciting player with her aggressive approach. Fielding very good. Sound batting technique. Bowling could be very useful for taking wickets to break big partnerships.

Ke Jo - Ability to score heavily. Catches well close to the wicket. A very handy bowler who could tie opposition down for long periods with her accuracy.

Kei - Has the ability to be an outstanding player. Batting has much potential. Can play shots all round the wicket and scores quickly.

Yugo - Very consistent batter and bowler. Accuracy with ball is tremendous. Very sound batting technique.

Shinzu - Very exciting player. Excellent fielder, with strong arm. Has ability to play all shots.

Emma - Brilliant close to the wicket fielder and very good outfielder as well. Excellent batting technique and plays most shots well. Scores freely and could be real matchwinner. Exciting runner between wickets.

Bunta - Very brave wicket keeper. Excellent pull shot and ability to score quickly. Dynamic player who sets tone for rest of fielders.