Japan Cricket Association defends Asian Games accommodation amid concerns

Cricketers at this month’s Asian Games in Japan will have better accommodation than athletes from many other sports, the head of Japanese cricket has said amid growing concerns about a lack of five-star hotels for players.

A Sri Lankan official said this week that some of Asia’s top teams had raised doubts over facilities and accommodation at the games, taking place in Nagoya and the wider Aichi area from September 19.

Cricket is a minor sport in Japan, and its fixtures will be played at a new purpose-built ground, with reports of tents serving as dressing rooms and distant toilet facilities.

There is no dedicated athletes’ village at the games, with organisers instead relying on cabins in a cruise ship, rooms in temporary wooden containers and hotels.

Organisers said last week that accommodation was already stretched to the limit after the number of Asian Games athletes ballooned to 17,000.

The number of athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympics was about 11,000.

The cricket tournament is being run by the Asian Games organising committee in collaboration with the Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

Japan Cricket Association CEO Naoki Alex Miyaji said the two bodies had been discussing accommodation options “for a long time”.

“The participating teams in cricket are being offered hotel accommodation,” Miyaji said on Wednesday.

“Many other sports are being accommodated in much more limited facilities, such as a cruise ship or container hotels.”

Matches will be played at Korogi Sports Park, a converted baseball field that is a 40-minute train ride from central Nagoya.

Media reports in India said the country’s cricket board was unhappy with arrangements and might send a second-string squad after originally naming 15 players led by Shreyas Iyer and including 15-year-old rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Miyaji said the organisers “only had 17 months to prepare and had to start from scratch” for cricket at the games.

He said they had been working “to ensure that the best facilities are provided within the limited timeline and facility restrictions”.

“Despite being temporary, the facilities will provide as comfortable a space as possible for the players and officials,” he said.

Miyaji said the pitch, which is being prepared by the curator of the 35,000-capacity Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Sri Lanka, would be of a high standard.

“From what I have seen, the playing surface and field will be the best seen in cricket’s inclusion in the Asian Games,” he added.