The Sharks overcame a 1st innings batting collapse to bowl and field their way to victory against the Kobe Hawks in the Japan Fup finals, becoming the Japan Cup Champions for the first time.

The final was the conclusion of the 2 day finals tournament that saw the top 10 teams from all over Japan battling for the championship over the weekend of October 18th & 19th. 

The Sharks had narrowly won their round 1 match against the Nagoya Bengal Tigers, before a dominant quarter finals performance saw them besting the Osaka Lions by 85 runs at the conclusion of the tournament’s 1st day.

The 1st match on Sunday was a semi final against the Falcons (who had beaten us in the final for East Kanto Division 1). The Sharks were looking for revenge, and revenge was what they got, putting up a total of 196/6 and winning the match by 39 runs. After the match some of the players attributed the win to the mutton curry served at the team dinner the night before; a statement that cannot be verified however the morning did see a number of emergency trips to the toilets….

After lunch (at which no mutton curry was eaten), a confident Sharks faced off against the Kobe Hawks, who had beaten the Nagoya Bengal Tigers in their semi final match. The Sharks opted to bat first, having won the toss, but their confidence quickly took a knock as wickets started to fall and by the end of the 9th over things were looking dire with the score on 63/6. Captain Abhi, Muneeb and Manav fought back and added some vital runs and took the Sharks to 133/9 by the end of the innings. What followed next was a nail-biting back and forward between the Sharks bowlers, Hawks batters and Sharks fielders. The first ball almost saw the Hawks opening batsman dismissed, but for a fumbled catch, however few other chances came and by the half way point only one wicket had been taken. The Hawks batsmen were playing a patient game, with the threat of a breakout was ever present, and by the 17th over the score was 104/3. 3 overs to go and 30 runs needed…The 18th over went firmly the Sharks way with Tim taking 2 wickets for only 1 run after successfully bowling 6 yorkers in a row, however the Hawks fought back hard in the 19th and took 14 runs. At the start of the last over the Hawks needed 15 runs from 6 balls. The pressure was immense as Muneeb stated to bowl – a pressure that only increased as his first ball went for 2 byes and the next 2 went for singles. 11 runs needed from 3 balls. The 4th ball was hit for a 6 – 5 runs needed from 2 balls. Muneeb tried to bowl a wide yorker and pitched it too wide – 4 runs needed from 2 balls. Same plan again, same result…3 runs needed from 2 balls. Everyone watching, including the scorers, were on their feet. Muneeb changed tactics – next ball wicket! 2 runs needed from 1 ball. Last ball, pitched too full, hit into the air and coming down into the hands of captain Ahbi – The Sharks had won it! Tim was awarded man of the match for his last 2 overs that took 3 wickets for 4 runs, though there were several Sharkies that would also have been deserving of the award. A great team performance. You can watch the match on YouTube.

After the award ceremony the Sharks celebrated in style at the Siddique Palace at Tokyo Tower. 

Mutton Curry anyone?

President Marcus celebrating in style after a long weekend.