Japan Men's National Team Selection Announced (15-10-2007)
You may know that last weekend a national team selection camp was conducted in Fuji, with as many as 28 players turning up to try out. As the Head Selector of the Japan Men's National Team, I'm pleased to announce the squad for the up-coming 6-team tournament in Auckland, New Zealand from November 29 to December 9, featuring Japan, Indonesia, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and the Cook Islands. The official announcement can be found here:
http://www.cricket.or.jp/new_jca/news_view.php?CAT=00000784
Perusing the list you may notice one name in particular:
コートニー・ジョーンズ(ウォンバッツCC) C. Jones
No Courtney Jones isn't Chuck's evil twin brother. That is indeed our very own Skipper, Chucky! By being named in the squad he has created Wombats history by becoming the first ever Wombat to represent Japan! Congratulations Chuck! He was chosen as a specialist batsman - which is not to disparage his bowling ability - and due to his ability to bat anywhere in the order, he may bat anywhere from opening right through to #6, depending upon the state of the game and the tournament, and the form of others.
As for the squad in general, we believe we have chosen a balanced squad with a mix of veteran and young players that we believe can win the tournament. We also believe we have a good mix of bowlers and batsman, and in the spirit of horses for courses as our opposition aren't known for their ability to play spin, we have chosen 3 spinners: 2 leggies and an offie. Local wisdom also suggests the Auckland (turf) wickets will be low and slow and take spin. Make no mistake: our goal is to win the tournament and anything less will be considered a failure.
This tournament is hugely important for the future of Japanese cricket. In fact, its arguably the most important tournament the Japanese team has ever played in. If they win the tournament, they will play in Division 5 of the World Cricket League next year in Jersey. If they lose, they will not play another tournament for almost 2 years and as the ICC is moving to more performance-based financial incentives, they will have their funding reduced. Quite frankly, I'm not full-bottle on what happens if they lose because I'm not considering losing.
Good luck to all players selected!
Jarrad "Dinosaur" Shearer
Captain's Message for 2007 Season (21-3-2007)
G'day Tokyo Wombats Cricket Club and welcome back for the 2007 season. From a playing perspective we're looking like having a busy start to the season. Practise games starting March 18th, the legendary Chiang Mai 6s in early April, the start of the J1C in mid-April and the Kobe Challenge at the end of May, so we'll be hitting the ground running come mid-March lads!
I'm delighted to again have Burkey as our V.C. and Coach. Please support and get behind him this season and don't be afraid to ask for advice whenever you think you need it because he has a wealth of cricketing knowledge and experience.
Some personnel changes this season with Gez and Zulu leaving Japan and moving onto blonder, colder things in Gez's case(Finland) and quieter things(Hervey Bay) in Zulu's case. Both were top players and blokes and their presence will be greatly missed. However, the club is delighted to welcome 2005 Golden Wombat winner, Alex "The Body" Koolhof back into the fold after his studies in Oz. He's a top bowler and will no doubt be a perfect replacement for Gez Brady. Also, rumours abound that Jammer will be resuming his glittering career with the Wombats and uping his official van beer drinking record.
Last season was obviously highly successful, winning the inaugural J1C Championship, The Pacific Cup, The Hardy's Ashes and we easily accounted for Kobe in the Kobe Challenge. From a team success perspective we couldn't have done any better. This season our goal must be to go back-to-back in the J1C. I think we can all agree that the J1C functioned well last season and playing all games on the best pitches in Japan, at the scenic Fuji grounds really made for good quality cricket. A personal goal of mine is to put our very best team on the park for all J1C fixtures so to give the Japanese teams really good competition. The more exposure they get to good quality cricket the more the Japanese will improve and develop. The Pacific Cup is also an important fixture for our club as it means playing competitive games at the delightful Shizuoka ground against quality opposition in the Shizuoka Kytes. Winning this comp again in 2007 is vital in securing us extra games on top of our J1C committments the folowing season. In a first for the club we'll be playing a day/niter this season. Following on the success of the inaugural Kobe Challenge of 2006 we've been invited back for another weekend of cricket on May 26th and 27th. The day/niter will certainly be a unique and exciting opportunity and I'm defineately looking forward to that weekends cricket and festivities. The facilites and hospitality afforded to us in 2006 was just top class so let's really support this event and make it enjoyable for everyone involved. This seasons tour has the potential to be one of the highlights of our clubs history!
As you can see we have a big season ahead of us and again I'd like T.W.C.C. to lead the way in sportsmanship, fair play and respect for the game of cricket, through socialising with the opposition, respecting eachother and remembering we're playing "the gentlemens game!"
also want players to simply enjoy their season. Take cricket in Japan for what it is: An opportunity for us to get out of Tokyo, play the game we love and share some beers with mates post game, nothing more. We aren't playing for anything other than pleasure so don't take it too seriously if something doesn't go your way on the field. The cricketing karma gods always even things up in the end! At the same time our club culture demands we play to win so for the 80 overs I'm representing the Tokyo Wombats each weekend I'll be giving 100% to our winning cause and I expect every other person who puts on the T.W.C.C. shirt to do the same this season.
Finally, I deeply appreciate you guys allowing me to lead the team in 2007. It's a tremendous personal honour to lead such a fantastic team and group of cricketers. I guarantee I'll do all I can to make this season as enjoyable and as successful as ever. Go hard in season 2007 Tokyo Wombats!
Cheers,
Chuck
President's Rant for 2007 Season (21-3-2007)
The season is yet to "officially" begin, but the Wombats have already put in some quality pre-season drinking, ah, I mean training. We've had 2 net sessions, one at Shinagawa and the other at Goi, where a total of about 15 Wombats turned out. We've also had a very good hit out against the Shizuoka Kytes in Shizuoka. Pleasingly, 3 blokes made runs with Rhino and Doc both getting amongst it with quality 50s; their first 50s for the club! As importantly was the way they got their runs with good, aggressive stroke play. Unfortunately one Jurassic creature was too slow as usual and not as many players got a hit as we would have liked. The bowling was likewise pleasing with the Wombats bowling out the Kytes with some overs to spare. Importantly, a new talent in the form of Atul was uncovered and he was amongst it with 2 wickets - the first being an absolute pearler to castle the batsman and the second removed danger man Russell, up all the way from Kobe to scout for this year's Kobe Challenge match. The Pidge also had no cobwebs from his 2 year layoff and bowled an outstanding spell with the new ball. A record at Shizuoka in terms of economy we were told by statistician Robert and undoubtedly will feature in Captain Chuck's match report. One selfish show pony bowler in particular didn't get a full run with the ball, although he did knock over the tail. So a few players are still underdone, but another practice game this Sunday - against the Dragons at Fuji that will feature a special guest in the form of an African warrior - will give more guys a chance to have a bat and a bowl. It's also worth noting that Captain Chuck made a very perceptive comment on the days play,"All those players that have been to training made runs or took wickets." Can't argue with that. Rocket science and all that…
The schedule has now been released and our ever-diligent Webmaster has updated the fixtures section of the Web site. As most of you blokes can't read above a third grade-level, let alone have the patience to look at the fixtures, I thought I would flesh-out the highlights of it.
Chiang Mai Sixes: First Week of April
Yeah, I know only a few of us are going but that's the point of listing it! If yer not going for the 20th Anniversary edition, you only have yourself to blame! As for stories, the golden rule of tours will be strictly enforced this year so "what goes on tour, stays on tour!"
First game: April 15
Not only is it our first game of the season, it's a grand final replay! I have no doubt that they will come at us hard to avenge the grand final loss to us last year. So it should be a HUGE game.
Wombats Vs Millennium: May 19
They've really turned into our bogey term. It's a game that the Skip has ear-marked as a must win. This game has also been scheduled on a Saturday, a day we traditionally struggle to get an 11 together, let alone our best side. One Alex Miyaji, their opening bowler and someone I work closely with in the national team, knows this fact and works for the JCA. Did he have a hand in it? Reggie will be screaming conspiracy! Should add extra spice to the clash.
Hardy's Kobe Challenge: May 27/28
Can't get any bigger than last year you say? You squat to piss, as one Black Nikka drinking croweater native likes to say. In fact he is in the process of ordering a trophy worthy of the stature of this event as we speak. More importantly, we will also be playing our first EVER day/night fixture! Want to make Wommies history? Well, you better be there, hadn’t you?
Hardy's Tokyo Ashes: TBA
I'm going to look to schedule the game some time in June or July seeing as we have an almost 2 month break during this period. Regardless of when we play it, it should be a great day. We are looking in to hiring a big bus and getting some spectators down for the day. As is usual for Ashes clashes, there'll be plenty of food and drink on offer.
Pacific Cup: TBA
Not sure when it will be played, but with the season finishing earlier this year, hopefully it won't be played in December again!
Finals: August/September
As great (and even not so great) AFL coaches say, "We're taking it one week at a time" so we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. However, there'’s no denying that the finals are why we all play the game (that, and the van rides) so its definitely our major goal of the season to defend our inaugural J1C crown.
Its shaping up to be an awesome year! Let's hope it's the Year of the Wombat!
Cheers,
The Prez
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