Japan's men's T20I captain and vice-captain will serve as coaches for the U19 team at next month's World Cup.
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, Reo Sakurano-Thomas join Japan U19 coaching staff
On Wednesday (December 10), Japan announced their squad for the 2026 edition of the tournament which begins on January 15 and will be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Named on their staff as head coach and assistant coach respectively are Reo Sakurano-Thomas and Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming. Aged 26 and 29 respectively, both players are active internationals for the Japanese senior team.
Kadowaki-Fleming, in fact, is the captain of the Japanese senior side, having led them in all of the 45 T20Is he has played thus far (Japan as a team have only played 51). The opening batter has 1,669 runs in international cricket, and is a world record-holder for having put on a 258-run with Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, the highest partnership for any wicket in men's T20Is (and all men's T20 cricket). He is also the third-quickest to 1,000 T20I runs, in 25 innings; just one slower than England's Dawid Malan and Czech Republic's Sabawoon Davizi.
Sakurano-Thomas, a seam-bowling all-rounder, has captained Japan in five T20Is, and has 238 runs and 39 wickets in 38 matches. He was one of two players, along with Declan Suzuki-McComb, who had the opportunity to train at SuperSport Park with the Titans domestic team in South Africa earlier this year.
The playing squad will be led by Kazuma Kato-Stafford, who has played 12 times for the senior team. It also includes the three Hara-Hinze brothers – Charles, Gabriel and Montgomery – who play for the Northern Suburbs Cricket Club in Queensland, Australia. Charles, who has also played for the senior team, made headlines last month with an incredible bowling display in grade cricket.
Japan squad, ICC Men's U19 World Cup
Players
Kazuma Kato-Stafford (c), Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Kaisei Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pol, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aaryan Waduge, Kai Wall, Taylor Waugh.
Staff
- Team Manager: Alan Curr
- Head Coach: Reo Sakurano-Thomas
- Assistant Coach: Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming
- Consultant Coach: Duncan Harrison
- Trainer: Hiromu Inoue
- Social Media: Benjamin Ito-Davis
Image credit: Instagram/asiancricketcouncil/reo_sakuranothomas
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