Kazuma Kato-Stafford to captain Japan in 2026 U19 WC

Kazuma Kato-Stafford has been named Japan’s captain for the 2026 Men’s Under-19 World Cup. The World Cup will be played in Namibia and Zimbabwe from January 15 to February 6.

Nikhil Pole and Timothy Moore, who recently missed the Asian Cricket Council Premier Cup in Ajman for Japan, have both returned to the squad for this major event. In that tournament, Japan defeated the Maldives and Qatar by 183 runs, but lost to Oman to reach the semi-finals.

Outstanding performers include Nihar Parmar, who scored 156 runs off 132 balls against the Maldives, and Keisei Kobayashi-Doggett, who scored 106 runs off 73 balls against Qatar, who have been included in the World Cup squad.

Ryo Sakurano-Thomas, an active senior men’s international cricketer, has been named head coach of the U19 team. Japan’s senior men’s team captain, Kendall Kadowaki-Fleming, will serve as assistant coach.

Japan has been drawn into Group C of the tournament alongside Sri Lanka, defending champions Australia, and Ireland. The team will depart for South Africa on January 5th, where it will play warm-up matches against Tanzania and the West Indies on January 10th and 12th.

This will be Japan’s second match after their first appearance at the U19 World Cup in South Africa in 2020. The 16th edition of the Men’s U19 World Cup will feature 16 teams, divided into four groups of four. Each team will play the other three teams in its group in the preliminary round, with the top three advancing to the Super Six stage. The top four teams will then qualify for the semi-finals, to be played in Bulawayo and Harare on February 3rd and 4th, with the final to be played at the Harare Sports Club on February 6th.

Japan Squad: Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Kazuma Kato-Stafford (captain), Keisei Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pol, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aryan Waduge, Kai Wall and Taylor Waugh