Japan clinch EAP Qualifier to book U19 ICC Men’s World Cup 2026 ticket

New Delhi: Japan became the 14th nation to seal their place at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 on Monday thanks to a dominant 115-run victory over Fiji, capping a scintillating, unbeaten week at the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Sano.

The home side began the week with impressive wins over PNG (by 106 runs and by 71 runs) and Fiji (6 wickets) and arrived at Monday’s fixture knowing a fourth victory would see them advance to their second U19 Men’s CWC.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first without their usual captain Nikhil Pol, the opening pair of Hugo Tani-Kelly (38 runs) and Nihar Parmar (36) made a solid start, putting on 78 runs before Parmar fell, bowled by Liga Manara. The dismissal of Tani-Kelly with the scores at 91 for two prompted a mini-collapse for Japan but critical contributions from Charlie Hara-Hinze (21) and Kazuma Kato-Stafford (25) helped steer them to a competitive 167 all out in 43 overs.

Joeli Moala and Manara were the pick of the bowlers for Fiji, recording three for 33 and two for 29 respectively.

With the biggest chase of the competition on the cards, Fiji began with Maika Kamikamica and Peni Mawa aiming to see off the opening bowlers, but it only took until the end of the sixth over for their resistance to be broken, with both openers losing their wickets in successive balls to Kato-Stafford and Tani-Kelly.

The wicket of Vakatawa Jone brought Manav Narayan to the crease, and despite a rearguard innings of 20 from 35 balls, Fiji were undone by the talented Japanese bowling lineup, losing wickets at regular intervals with Hara-Hinze (four for 13) and Parmar (three for no runs and a run out) tearing through their middle and lower order.

Parmar picked up the final wicket with Fiji well short on the scorecards for Japan to seal a 115-run win and a World Cup place in front of jubilant home support.

Reacting to their qualification, Japan captain Pol, said, “We are so excited about qualifying for the World Cup. It’s the biggest event on the U19 calendar and to follow in the footsteps of the team in 2020 makes us extremely proud. I can’t wait to represent our country in Africa next year.”

The final day of the event on Tuesday saw PNG get their first win, beating Fiji by seven wickets in a rain-affected match, and following the conclusion of the action, the Japanese duo of Hara-Hinze and Parmar were recognised as the standout performers across the week – Parmar taking home the Batter and Bowler of the Tournament awards (121 runs and 13 wickets from his four matches), while Hara-Hinze picked up the Player of the Tournament prize (92 runs and 12 wickets).

Japan had more reason to celebrate soon after, with no fewer than five players included in the Team of the Tournament. Captain Pol was named alongside Parmar, Hara-Hinze, Tani-Kelly and Skyler Nakayama-Cook, with the remining spots filled by Narayan, Moala and Manara of Fiji, plus Gaba Frank, Vagi Vani and Anthony David of PNG.

16 teams will be competing at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Ten teams automatically qualified for the event as the best-placed Full Member nations from the 2024 edition: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Full Member hosts of the World Cup in 2026, Zimbabwe have also secured automatic qualification. The remaining five spots are determined through regional qualification pathways, with only the winning team from each regional Qualifier advancing to the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026.

Tanzania became the first team to qualify through this route last month with victory at the Africa Qualifier, while Afghanistan also booked their World Cup ticket after clinching the recent Asia Qualifier in Nepal.

Victory in Sano means Japan are the 14th team to qualify, with Qualifiers in Europe and Americas still to follow in July and August where the final teams will be confirmed.

IANS