Japan Beats Fiji to Reach U19 Cricket World Cup

Japan has become the 14th nation to seal their place at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026 thanks to a dominant 115-run victory over Fiji during the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in Sano.

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.

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,” he added.

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