Howzat!

Not many people in Japan would recognize "Howzat", but for millions of people around the world it is a much-loved shout. Like: bouncer, googly, or French cut … it is a word associated with the game of cricket.

THE GAME

Cricket, you might say, and many in Japan have, “What the hell is that?” Many of us, over the years, have tried to explain cricket to Japanese friends, only to be greeted with puzzled looks, glazed expressions and finally total disbelief when you inform them that a real game takes five days to complete. So here we go.

“What is cricket?”

Cricket originated in England and is now played in many countries around the world, mainly ex British colonies such as Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies.

It is played by two teams of 11 players and, like baseball, one team fields while the other bats, trying to avoid the fielders and score as many runs as possible in the process. However, the similarities with baseball end about there.

In cricket there are three wooden “stumps” behind the batsmen and if the “bowler” (see pitcher in baseball) can hit these stumps the batsman is out. The batsmen can also be out “caught”, “run-out”, “stumped”, “leg before wicket” or “hit wicket”. Top international bowlers send the ball down the “pitch” at around 150km/hour. As you can imagine, staying “in” in cricket, or out of the way of the ball for that matter, is not the easiest prospect. What's more you only get one chance a game!

Runs can be scored anytime the ball is hit, anywhere on field, by the two batsmen running between the stumps, a distance of about 15 meters. Basically the objective is to get all the other teams' batsmen out and then score more runs than they did, which usually run in the hundreds. Hence the length of the game!

THE HISTORY

Many people would be surprised to learn that cricket is played in Japan and in fact there are many teams all over Japan currently playing cricket on a regular basis. So here's the next most common question:“How did cricket come to Japan? Surely it hasn't been around for long … "

In fact, the game was introduced by visiting foreign sailors in the 19th century and the country's first club, the Yokohama Cricket Club, was founded in 1868. By the 1880s, annual matches were played between expatriates in Yokohama and Kobe, which, apart from the war years, continued until 1962 at which time the number of cricketers in the Kobe region dwindled.
Although it became a minor sport played at some elite private schools, cricket failed to take root in Japan, to the great disappointment of its enthusiastic followers. As a result, it remained the preserve of the expat community for 80 years until its re-emergence in the 1980s.

In 1982, the annual cricket fixture between Kobe and Yokohama was resumed. However, to the surprise of the Yokohama team (whose club had, in 1912, been re-named again as the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club), Kobe fielded five Japanese players in its team, attracting the attention of a number of television stations.
After that, the 1980s and '90s saw the game take off at a number of universities under professor Makoto Yamada of the Kobe City University of Foreign Studies and now many teams and leagues enjoy the game of cricket throughout Japan.

THE GAME IN KANSAI

Here in Kansai the game is being played on a regular basis. The cricket season runs from around April to November with teams arranging games among themselves at grounds in Osaka and Kobe. With the usual entourage of bewildered Japanese spectators wondering what the crazy gaijin are up to now.

The main teams involved at present are the Kobe Regatta and Athletic club (KRAC), the Osaka Bulldogs, the Nova Knights and the Rokko Island Indians.

The Kobe Regatta and Athletic club is situated at Isogami Park in Sannomiya, Kobe. The club has great facilities, a playing field with a clubhouse, which has a bar, restaurant, changing rooms with showers, tennis courts and other sporting teams and activities.

Cricket is played at the KRAC 2 to 3 times a month with the penultimate event being the annual challenge against the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club, a fixture which has been running over 120 years. Longer than the legendary England vs Australia Ashes matches. The club also hosts the Annual Kansai six-a-side tournament as well as organizing other fixtures such as the infamous and always passionate ANZAC (Australia vs New Zealand) cricket game.

Nova KCC is in it's 6th season and is based in the Kansai area, with most players being Osaka-based and games are played by arrangement which means they play, in the Spring to Autumn period (roughly March to October) about once or twice a month, usually on a Sunday. Members are also kept informed of other cricketing events around Kansai.

The Osaka Bulldogs were established 12 years ago in Osaka. They arrange grounds at local schools around the Osaka area and invite teams to play. The Bulldogs are a social team and enjoy playing their cricket, but the emphasis is on getting out in the sun and having a good time. Osaka cricket club welcomes all skill levels and persuasions, providing they can hold their beer.
All three teams are always looking for new teams and players so anyone interested should feel free to get in touch. Contact information below.

So if you didn't know what cricket was, let alone that you could play in Japan, now you do, and it is time to get out there, grab a bat and face some balls. More importantly cricket is a great social sporting event, the long hours waiting for a bat being fairly conducive to a lot of laughs and a few Chu-hi. Many a Kansai cricketer has left the ground not being able to tell you who won the game, but never short of a new mate or a good yarn to tell.

For those of you with two left hands, or a more sensible respect for rock hard balls being thrown at you, you can catch international cricket at home, via satellite through websites such as www.willow.tv. As yet Kansai cricket is not broadcast internationally.

Kansai cricket is always looking for more players or even better more teams. The goal for the 2005 season is to have a league competition with four or five teams involved. It's a great social game enjoyed by people of all levels and nationalities so if you're interested in playing or even just coming down to support, make contact with one of the local teams and maybe you too can “bowl some maidens over!“

Getting involved

Kobe Regatta and Athletic Club:www.krac.org
Tel: 078-231 2271 / Russell: 080-1445-4270
Osaka Bull Dogs:
http://members.aol.com/miyuganthara/osakabulldogs.html
Tel Paul 090-3713-1203
Nova: Tel Byron: 090-9168-4657 / Tony: 080-3108-1021

Text: Russell Forsythe, Matthew Tohill
• Photos: Jatin Banker