Japan qualify, PNG forfeit

JAPAN have qualified for next year’s International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup in South Africa – the first time the country has qualified for a cricket World Cup at men’s, women’s or junior level – in bizarre circumstances.
They secured their place in the tournament after Papua New Guinea — their opponents for Saturday’s final group match at the ICC U19 East Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier — forfeited the game in Sano.
The forfeit occurred when Papua New Guinea could not field a team for the final day’s play after Cricket Papua New Guinea suspended 11 of its 14 squad members “for internal disciplinary reasons and failing to adhere to our strict codes of conduct”, according to a statement issued via Facebook by Cricket PNG.
Japan, who were the hosts, and Papua New Guinea were both undefeated, with three victories each heading into Saturday’s final day of group play at the Sano International Cricket Ground, a turf facility located 100km north of capital Tokyo.
Both teams had defeated Samoa, Fiji and Vanuatu in their opening three encounters and had a scheduled off-day on Friday, ahead of their de facto final on Saturday, before a statement was issued by the ICC announcing that Papua New Guinea had forfeited due to the suspensions en masse.
Japan participated in the East Asia-Pacific Regional U19 Qualifier for the first time since 2011. In their three prior appearances — 2007, 2009 and 2011 — Japan had only won one of 11 matches, a 24-run win over Fiji.
This year’s squad is a cosmopolitan mix of Japanese players, along with several players of other ethnicities.
Papua New Guinea had won the East Asia-Pacific U19 championship seven consecutive times from 2002 through 2014.
But this is the second time in the last three tournaments that they have failed to take the regional berth to secure a spot in the U19 World Cup.
Having finished runners-up to Fiji four years ago albeit under more traditional circumstances, this was the second time failure.
– ESPNcricinfo