After a quiet August with only 3 games, following the cancellation of 2 because of the weather, September was to be another quiet month that had only 2 scheduled matches for the JCL squads, much of the cricket calendar being taken by the Japan Cup finals and JCL T20 finals. The Sharks had one league Japan Cup game remaining at the start of the month, a tie or win needed to take them into the Semi Finals. 

The first squad to play was the 1st XI in the JCL Div 1 against the Tokyo Falcons on September 7th; the Falcons being unbeaten so far this season and sat at the top of the table. The weather was still scorching so the match was shortened to 35 overs. The Falcons won the toss and chose to bat first. The bowlers started off well, Kenta taking 2/6 in the first three overs, and from then on the innings was well balanced, the bowlers and batters both keeping each other in check with runs and wickets both slowly ticking over. The Falcons managed to bat for the full 35 overs ending on 189/9; not a bad score but not a great score either. Hamid `Freddy` (3/35) and Kento (2/26) were the leading wicket takers, though Ben (1/22 off 7 overs) had the best economy.

The Sharks innings started off with disaster in the first over with opener Nikhil and his replacement Dhugal both being dismissed. At the end of the over the Sharks were 5/2. The Sharks needed to right the ship quickly and Takady was the man for the job, a brilliant next three overs saw him hit 29 from 16 balls. The Falcons bowlers then settled in and made scoring hard with Takady and Ben only managing 11 runs from the next 4 overs. After Ben was dismissed from catch on the 9th the only players to get settled in were Ghufran (26 from 19) and Marcus (27 from 34, not out). Takady was removed in the 18th over on 49, and the 10th wicket was taken in the 29th over, with the Sharks on a total of 144/10, the Falcons winning by 45 runs.

September 8th saw the Japan Cup squad play the Men in Blue at Sano riverside 1D. MIB won the toss and chose to bowl first, preferring to chase. The Sharks almost lasted the full 20 overs, their last man being removed with only 2 balls remaining and with the Sharks having put up a pedestrian 119. Notable batting scores were Ashley (31 off 25 balls) and Abhipray (19 off 24 balls). When it came the turn of MIB to bat, they took our bowlers to the cleaners, their opening batsman hitting 83 off 41 balls before being removed by Manav. Alas, this was to be the Sharks only wicket, MIB chasing down the required score on the last ball of the 10th over, rubbing salt into the Shark`s wounds by hitting the ball for six. This game marked the end of the Sharks 2024 Japan Cup campaign, seeing the squad ending in 5th place and with 2 wins and 3 losses from 6 games. We will be back next year, hungrier than ever for success….

The Japan Cup side’s loss meant that the September 14th JCL Div 2 match between the Sharks 2nd XI and the Falcons 2nd XI would be the last Sharks match for September. On arriving at Sano 1A both teams were surprised to find thick lines of cut grass covering the entire cricket pitch, so for an hour the players of both teams worked together to clear the 30 yard circle. Whilst the teams were clearing the grass the sun came out from behind the cloud cover that had promised a coolish day, and by the time of the toss the temperature was approaching 34 degrees; when the Falcons won the toss they of course chose to bat first. The Falcons approached the match like a T20 and were hitting aggressively throughout their innings, the Sharks bowlers struggling with the heat, but managing to take wickets consistently. The Sharks 12th man was constantly fielding, substituting for fielders trying to avoid heatstroke. The Falcons got to the end of the shortened innings (35 overs) on 277/9. Notable Sharks bowling performances were Vik: 3/35 (5 overs), Hammad: 1/27 (6 overs) and Mahesh: 1/37 (5 overs). Ali was the notable fielder taking 3 catches. 

Whether it was due to the heat, or the demotivation caused by having to chase such a high score, is not known but the Sharks batters crumpled without a fight. Shige provided some fireworks hitting 24 from 27 balls and Tim put up 25 from 45 balls, but apart from these Ali was the only other player to score above 10, hitting 11 from 15 balls. 4 players were dismissed for ducks and two for only 1 run. In the end the Sharks were dismissed inside 20 overs for their lowest total of the season, an 88. October will be the 2nd XI`s final match of the season and their final chance for an elusive win…..

September was the Sharks mensis horribilis, but not everything is finished and we are continuing to fight for the semi finals in JCL 1, dignity in JCL 2 and a respectable top 4 finish in JCL 4. 

At the end of the month the Sharks finished 4nd in JCL Div1, 9th in JCL Div2, 4th in JCL Div4, 5th in the Japan Cup, East Kanto Division 1(final position) and 5th place in group A of the JCL T20 (final position).