• Winner qualifies for the prestigious ACC Premier Cup
• Japan has returned to cricket competition after 2 decades

Clareto Monsorate

ABU DHABI: The semifinal of the Asian Cricket Council Challenger Cup between Japan and Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 9 at Thailand’s Terdthai Cricket Ground, is pivotal because it will determine which team moves on to the prestigious ACC Premier Cup in April.

Saudi Arabia are the defending champions, while Japan has returned to cricket competition after a hiatus of two decades.

Japan’s Team Manager Alan Curr told Arab News Japan the competition was an important one for his side.

“We’re very excited to have rejoined the Asian Cricket Council after 20-odd years. It gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against a whole new region,” he said.

Curr said Saudi Arabia is the No. 1-ranked team in the tournament, so it would be a “great test” for Japan.

“They’ve been scoring their runs at nine an over, so they obviously have a very powerful batting lineup and it’ll be a good challenge for our boys.”

Saudi Arabia have made significant strides since becoming an International Cricket Council associate member in 2016. The team is undefeated in the ACC Men’s Challenger Cup, which culminated in a commanding victory over Bahrain last year.

Kabir Khan, Saudi Arabia’s director of cricket and head coach, said: “To be honest, Japan is not a team to be taken lightly. The global cricket family is looking forward to seeing Japan play, and I wish them the best.”

Khan, who led Saudi Arabia to victory last year, wants to play more matches against Japan.

“We definitely would like to play them more, maybe invite them out to play against us. We would love to go to Japan, or even play at a neutral venue,” Khan said.

For Japan, a victory in tomorrow’s match would mark a triumphant return to the ACC.

The match will be streamed live on the ACC’s YouTube channel, @AsianCricketCouncil from 6:30 a.m. UAE time (5:30 a.m. Riyadh).