Japan farewell Aussie addition

This week the Japan Cricket Association says goodbye to Shane Koop from Cricket Victoria who is in Japan as part of a State Province Partnership between the two associations.

He has spent the last six weeks working with the JCA and traveling around Japan passing on his cricket knowledge and running Cricket for Smiles development programmes for hundreds school children.

Koop, who is a regional cricket manager with Cricket Victoria, based in Melbourne Australia, has been working hard to help grow the game of cricket in Japan.

"I've had a great time here in Japan and it has been a wonderful experience meeting new people, seeing new places and developing the game at grassroots level," he said. "While cricket isn't the number one sport in Japan, the children we ran clinics for picked up the basics very well. We saw a number of children who could be Japan cricket representatives in the future."

During his last week with the association he visited Sendai with departing JCA development manager and women's captain Ema Kuribayashi. Koop saw first-hand the devastation the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused to the region, and how Cricket for Smiles is making an impact.

"It is unbelievable seeing the devastation. We stayed in a hotel that was the only active building standing. It was very eerie," he said. "But we also ran a number of clinics and got to see how cricket can bring smiles to people, not just up north but around the country."

Koop was also part of the management team that led the Japanese women's cricket side to victory at the recent ICC EAP women's trophy in Vanuatu in May. "It was great to be part of the team, and see the passion the women have for cricket," he said. "Winning the competition has done a lot for cricket in Japan and I hope the women continue on their winning way."

It has been not just the cricket that has made his trip memorable.

"The people, the food and the culture is all so amazing," he said. "Thank you very much to everyone who supported me for the last seven weeks. I'll look back at my time with Japan Cricket Association with fond memories and I hope to return again soon."