With May wrapping up, the cricket season is officially in full swing. May was a mixed month for the Sharks, mixing spectacular individual milestones, dominant team performances, and some tough lessons on the Sano pitches. The Japan Cup campaign is looking rock solid, the 2nd XI showed their potential and the mighty 3rds are fighting for every run.

May 10th – Japan Cup Batting Masterclass

The Japan Cup squad (2025 Champions) continued their fine form with a clinical, high-scoring 30-run victory over the Chiba Hawks at Sano 3. Electing to bat first, the Sharks’ top order completely obliterated the Hawks’ bowling attack to post a massive 233/2 in their 20 overs. The innings included three half-centuries; Ghufy (85 off 49), Ash – in his first match since returning from Australia, rumour has it looking pumped – (56 off 33) and Takady (50 off 33 balls).
Faced with a mountainous chase, the Hawks launched a brutal counter-attack and looked dangerous at 111/0. However, Hammad stepped up to deliver a decisive, match-turning spell. Hammad picked up 3/41, taking a crucial double-blow in the 11th over to remove the dangerous opener and shift the entire momentum of the game. Tight death-bowling restricted the Hawks to 203/8, sealing a comfortable win for the Sharks.

May 16th – Sharks Take the Riverside by Storm

Saturday the 16th saw a rare event – both the 2nd and 3rd XI’s achieving decisive victories.

At Sano 1C the 2nd XI were on a different planet and blew away the KKR batters within 15 overs. Ash led the charge with an unbelievably destructive spell of 6 for 14 off 7.3 overs (including 3 maidens and 41 dot balls). Backed up by Eric Harrison (2/26), KKR were bundled out for just 45 runs. If the bowling was destructive the batting was pure fireworks; Rithvik smashing 16 from 5 balls and Ash 24 off 13. KKR`s total was chased down in just 2.5 overs (17 legal balls) to seal a massive 10-wicket victory and an early finish. Rithvik’s opening salvo earned him Player of the Match honors.

The 2nd XI looking happy after a massive win

Meanwhile over at Sano 4, the 3rd XI secured a convincing 3-wicket victory over the KKR 4th XI. A structured bowling performance saw Rahul tear through the top order with 3/32, while Matt delivered a masterclass in economy, finishing with figures of 1/12 from his 7 overs. Chasing 153, opening batter Asala anchored the innings beautifully, compiling a fluent 58 off 48 balls. A brief late collapse caused some minor nerves, but Rahul mirrored his first-innings heroics by walking out at number 9 to hit a crisp, pressure-relieving boundary to guide the Sharks home in the 27th over.

May 24th – A Tough Sunday In Sano

The gods of cricket did not look favourably on the Sharks on May 24th, with both the 1st and 2nd XI enduring tough defeats. The bad luck was compounded by a communications error on the 23rd which resulted in only one Shark reporting for Div 3 umpiring duty and causing a penalty of 1 run to be applied to all Sharks JCL teams.

The 1st XI suffered a humiliating 104-run defeat to AQCC at Sano 3 – their first loss of the season. After being asked to bowl, the Sharks were put on the back foot by a massive 115 run opening stand, but showed resilience and managed to spark a late collapse to bowl the Quashers out for 229. Muneeb (3/33 – with 30 dot balls), and Nikhil (3/35) were the pick of the bowlers. The chase started with intent, the Sharks getting 28 off their first 3 overs, but both openers were removed within the first 6 overs which put the Sharks on the back soot. Ghufi, coming in at 4, injected momentum with 39 off 33 balls, however his dismissal triggered a catastrophic batting collapse, seeing the Sharks crumble from 94/3 to 107/7 in the space of just 15 deliveries, eventually being bowled out for 125.

On the neighboring Sano 1B, the 2nd XI suffered a 48-run defeat to the Star Kings. The Sharks’ bowling was a true team effort, with five different bowlers picking up two wickets each as the bowled out the Start Kings for 211. The chase began with a flying, aggressive 55-run partnership in just 8 overs between Taiga and Hammad, the latter smashing a destructive 38 off 34 balls. Unfortunately, after the openers fell, the spin attack strangled the chase. Despite a lower-order fightback from Shige (31 off 43), the Sharks batters were overwhelmed and were bowled out for 163.

May 30th & 31st – Defiance in the Face of Defeat and a Forfeit

The final weekend of the month brought a mixed bag of results.

On May 30th, the 3rd XI fell short by 73 runs against a powerful Tigers 4th XI batting display at Sano 1D. Salman gave the Sharks a dream start with the ball, picking up 2/29 including 3 maidens, but a brilliant Tigers century pushed their total to an imposing 290/6.
Chasing a daunting target, the Sharks found themselves in deep trouble at 150/6. The show’s not over until the fat lady sings, however, and Salman was not in a singing mood – smashing a rapid 50 not out off just 32 deliveries (including 5 towering sixes). Partnering with Rahul (22 off 34), Salman ensured the Sharks batted out their full 35 overs to finish on a respectable 217/6.

Salman after his 50

May 31st was a quieter than expected end to the month as Tsukuba forfeited their Japan Cup East Kanto Division 1 clash, handing the Sharks a default 4 points to keep them flying high at the top of the table.

At the end of the month the Sharks were top of the table in the Japan Cup EK Div 1, 8th in JCL Div 1, 10th in JCL Div 2 and 3rd in JCL Div 4.