Halloween, autumn weather and early sunsets signal the cricket season is nearing its end. The 2nd and 3rd XI`s had their final league games of the season in October and the 1st had the disappointment of an abandoned Semi final that they looked on course to win, but the month also brought success and celebrations as the Sharks won the finals of the Japan Cup and were crowned Champions of all Japan!

On 4th October the Glorious 3rd had their last league game of the season at Sammu. On paper they could progress to the semi-finals with a big win and some other matches going their way, but such an outcome was unlikely. The team were hopeful all the same – finishing on a win would be nice. They were up against MIB and started off by winning the toss, choosing to bowl first because of the conditions. Bowlers and batters started off cautiously, with a sole 6 the only action of the first 7 overs, however the game opened up with 2 wickets from Vik in the 8th over. The Sharks played a spin heavy innings, with 19 of the 35 overs bowled by spinners, and at no point did the MIB batters look like breaking out and scoring big. Wickets were well spread amongst the bowlers, with each taking at least one wicket. MIB were all dismissed on the 34th over for 154, the only black mark on the Sharks being 52 extras. The Sharks went into their innings confident they could chase the target, but a wicket at the end of the first over was a bad sign. A further wicket in the second over saw the Sharks on 2/2 and looking in trouble. Anthony M. hit a lovely 4 in the 3rd over, and another in the 4th, and was starting to look comfortable when he was caught out in the sixth. Vik and Shige were then removed for ducks in the 6th and 7th overs. Will and Matt made a token stand until Matt was removed in the 11th over on 17 (the high score of the match). Will lasted until the 16th when he was bowled following a shocker of a leave, much to the amusement of the other players (opponents and Sharks) and the Umpires. Following a short pause for the laughter to subside the 3rds were all bowled out in the same over on 58; a nightmare end to the season but at least we went out with a laugh.

The 2nds were playing their final match against AQCC on the 5th, and although a semi-final place was out of the question, honour was the objective after a mixed season. Having lost the toss the Sharks were asked to bat first. Umar and Sud started the innings and played cautiously but solidly getting 30 runs after 10 overs, sometimes sensible play is what is required (If only the 3rds had played like this!) and today would be one of those days. The first batsman didn’t fall until the 16th over and by the end of the innings only 6 batsmen had been removed, but the total of 229 was good. Rahul got a half century (54), and in doing so claimed the most runs in Div 2, overtaking Timmy. Hammad scored a 40 (not out), and Sud and Ayush both got more than 20. Old man Extra also played well getting 48 for the 2nds. AQCC never really got of the mark in their innings, with wickets in the 3rd and 4th overs and a terrible 2 off the bat by the end of the 7th over. Low scoring was to be the undoing of AQCC, by the end of the 40th over they had only lost 6 wickets, but had also only managed to score 106 runs. The Sharks cruised to a 123 run victory, on the way Hammad and Nushi bowled 4 maiden overs each. Hammad received MoM for his 40 not out and 1/10 off 8 overs.

On October 11th The 1st XI played the Falcons in the Semi Final for JCL1. Ben and Dhugal were absent, both on tour in Oman with Japan, so Takady was taking the captain’s role. The Sharks batted first with Marcus and Nikhil opening, th Timmy and Takady coming in at 3 and 4. Whilst the Sharks were batting the rain came and the match was abandoned in the 22nd over, with the Sharks on 212 and both Takady and Timmy playing well. The rescheduled match will not take place in November, with the Sharks bolstered by Dhugal and Ben (and the Falcons by Abishek). 

October 18th and 19th was the Japan Cup Finals weekend, in which the Sharks triumphed. You can read all about it here: https://chibasharks.com/news/japan-cup-finals-champions-2025/

Rui giving Eric catches

Nikhil leaves the field after getting a 50

The last weekend of October was taken by the Embassy Cup, where Embassy sides from 7 nations plus a Japan team compete across 2 divisions. The Embassy teams are primarily drawn from nationals of those Embassies residing and playing cricket in Japan. Being one of the most diverse cricket teams in Japan meant the Sharks had representation in many teams; in fact Sharkies were everywhere with players in the sides for Japan (Ben & Nikhil), India (Manav & Rithvik), Pakistan (Hammad, Muneeb & Ghufi), the Anzac’s (Dhugal, Anthony Morcom & Taiga) and the UK (Tim, Sam, Matt, Anthony Hague, Sud, Eric & Will). Pakistan was also coached by Nick. This is evidence we are fulfilling our mission of supporting the development of cricket in Japan and also that we have built a truly inclusive and open club. Although the competition was shortened by rain, Sharkies performed well with three in the top ten batters (Tim, Dhugal and Buvith), Ghufi in the top ten bowlers, Taiga in the top ten fielders, and Tim top of the player rankings. Nicks coaching paid dividends for Pakistan who won Division 1. Unfortunately we cannot give credit to the rumour that from next year the Embassy Cup will be renamed the Sharks International Cup….