Aussie Provincials great ambassadors in Japan
 Mark Richards
Kingsley Collins, Thursday, 21 May 2009 The Australian Provincial squad is currently touring Japan, having played three games against Guam in transit and suiting up against a number of Japanese university, independent league and industry teams.... While the tour is being closely monitored by aficionados on the baseball forum, it has received surprisingly little attention through baseball organisations and the media.
Supported by the Commonwealth Government and the Australia-Japan Foundation, the tour is the first time that an Australian Provincial team has played in Japan. The tour was designed to help develop closer social and economic relationships between two baseball-loving powers in the Asian region and it presents enormous opportunities to help strengthen ties between our nations through the universal language of baseball.
The Australian Provincial team includes six players from Victoria - Matt Jones, Scott Moore, Matt Austin, Blake Cunningham, Mark Richards and Ryan Evans – along with a number of emerging stars from across the land. Australian Provincial squad. The team is managed by New South Wales provincial stalwart Allan Parrott and it includes playing and management names familiar to Victorian Provincial baseball interests, including Marshall Skinner (Assistant Coach), David Hargreaves (Pitching Coach) and Michelle Winther (Scorer). In three games against Guam - in extreme heat - the Aussies won the first 10-0 against Bank of Guam Athletics. In a tougher contest, they took the second game 7-2 over Payless Junior Nationals before going down 1-4 in the third game against Budweiser “All-Stars”. Heading on to Japan, the Australian side played five games in Morioka, winning two and losing three. Among the early stand-out players were pitchers Chris Morgan (ACT), Jeff Wishart (WA) and Mark Richards (Victoria), who was terrific in what Pitching Coach David Hargreaves described as a “high quality game” against Iwate Pheasants, who prevailed 4-1. Hayden Beard (WA), Michael Campbell (Country New South Wales) and Geoff Brotherton (Country New South Wales) were strong on the hill in the team’s 4-10 loss to JR Morioka. “Errors cost us in this game,” said Hargreaves. “No doubt our worst performance yet. This team is the number one industry league team and they made us pay.” “With six errors this game and against great pitching we were never in the hunt,” he said. “While playing good baseball against some tough opposition is a priority, we are well aware of the broader purposes of the tour and we are doing our best to enhance the cultural relationships between Japan and Australia – in a baseball context, anyway,” Hargreaves said. “As a side issue, the level of emotion from our Morioka hosts was amazing to witness as we left, with every single person who has helped us in any way over the five days we were there coming to see us off at either our hotel or at the train station. Fantastic and really had an effect on plenty of our touring party.” Taking the bullet train from Morioca, the Australian provincial team headed to Niigata to take on its Independent League team, Albirex, in a game televised on local “pay for view” TV.
“It’s an outstanding achievement on the team’s behalf to get that sort of local coverage,” said Hargreaves.
“We have also been involved in a baseball documentary filmed in Morioka. It is being aired on 29 May - also on pay for view TV, but specifically in Morioka. We have been promised copies of this on DVD and once again, it is another example of the level of interest not only in baseball, but I think in Australian baseball and the level of excitement we have created.” “The people have been just lovely to us,” Hargreaves said. “We have had numerous invites from baseball people to return, as well as the hotel we stayed at and the general public. Just brilliant.” In what many felt was the game of the tour to date, Australian Provincial went down to Albirex 3-6 in a quality game of baseball.
"It was a great effort by the Aussie boys, especially over five innings, with starting pitcher Chris Morgan (ACT) holding this team to one whilst our boys scored three runs to take the lead 3 -1 into what can only be described as a bizarre half time break in the game after the fifth inning was completed,” Hargreaves reported. “The other team disappeared for ten or fifteen minutes while a team of ground crew came out and scraped the entire infield, including turning the sprinklers on – something rare back in Australia recently.”
“After the fifth, this seemed to unsettle the team a bit and we struggled both defensively and with the bat,” Hargreaves said.
“We gave up three in the sixth and then another two in the eighth to end with the final score line.”
Highlights included three hits to Tim Atherton (NSWC and Claxton Shield representative), who also threw a runner out at the plate and relieved the final inning. Victorian Scott Moore’s fielding at short stop was breath-taking and Brotherton was again solid in relief over 2.1 innings.
Following the game the Australian squad were guests of the opposition - being served up beverages, a small meal and engaging in some local hospitality.
“We even had a couple of songs belted out by our resident Australian Idol Mark Richards and our Australian Idol Reject, Matthew Jones,” said Hargreaves. “It was all well received by our hosts.” The team backed up with a Wednesday game against Gunma that resulted in a 5-11 loss for the Aussies. Tim Atherton went four from four, Trent d’Antonio cleared the yard and Matt Jones starred behind the plate. Another game for the tourists in Nagano – home of the 1998 Winter Olympics - on Thursday, then on the road again to Tokyo. A couple of games in the capital – against the Saitama Industry team - before the side boards a flight back to Australia on 31 May, surely more worldly persons for the experience. In these uncertain times, it’s reassuring to know who your friends are. The reception that the Australian provincial squad has reportedly received and the manner in which they have conducted themselves are a great credit to them all - as individuals and as a sporting group representing their country. Great ambassadors for Australian baseball and for nurturing the spirit of friendship and understanding between two cultures that exhibit vast differences, yet share so much in common.
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