Division 1: 
As foreseen, revelations but also disappointments have surfaced, making the the forecast slightly more complicated!

Clubs: 
-Adore C.C. 
Surprise promotion to Division 1. in spite of the difficulty to stay in the upper division  G. Brady and S. Nakazawa are leading a bunch of players not much changed from last year but generally improved, especially the likes of Y. Shimada and his very deceptive slow inswingers.Since then S. Nakzazawa has proved a useful batsman, but used too low in the order. Y. Shimada has been read and been inflicted with some punishment. G. Brady has confirmed but should take the club in charge and teach some basic tactics to his captain!

-Friends XI C.C. 
Lost Munir Ahmad, their best batsman, but enrolled a few Sri Lankan players (who proved slightly medicre). Slightly ageing team. but still prove a force in Division 1, although opponents will know they can beat them on their day, especially when missing one or two leading bowlers. Batting reinforced by the arrival of Umar farooq.
Ali brothers (All round) and Umar Farooq  to follow. 

-Fuji Far East C.C. 
Reinforced by the arrivals of Sujith Dharmasena and Mahen Fernando and some Sri Lankan friends (who unfortunately do not seem to turn up!), as well as the transfer of Anton McCloy from the Kytes. Will compete with Shizuoka Kytes to stay in Division 1, unless their new arrivals prove vital. Then they shall compete for a slot in the semi-finals.. 
K. Orita's bowling and T. Kawashima's batting and keeping to follow. 

-Millennium C.C. 
Acquired Munir Ahmed. Very solid team when all members are available. Could prove the most improved team in 2003. 
To follow: Munir Ahmed, Naoaki Saida, Naoki Miyaji, Tetsuo Fuji, Mohammad Rizwan all playing for the National Team.
Has confirmed they shall at least reach the semi-finals.

-Shizuoka Kytes C.C. 
Going through a rebuilding period. Lost Mark Wilson, the most economical bowler of the KCL in 2001 and 2002. Acquired one escellent batsman in Michael Walker (who unfortunately could turn up to only one game), two all-rounders in Melvin De Silva and Phillip Harris and excellent bowlers in Chanuka Sanjeewa and Sampath Senaratna (who have faded since then) and Asunka Senaka. Might be able to squeeze away from demotion, but certainly not qualify for the semi-finals when all players are not available. Middle and low batting too brittle.
Matthew Sharpe's bowling (who suffered from a bike accident) and Robb McKenna's batting to follow. 

-Tokyo Giants C.C. 
2002 champions. Lost Sujith Dharmasena and a few more players. Acquired a few players of unknown quantity. Like Friends, ageing team and beatable, in spite of their two recent Championships . 
Mumtaz Alam's batting and Tauseef Azhar's bowling to follow. 

-Tokyo Indian Engineers C.C. 
No new members of note, but solid all around. Can beat any team on their day, but brittle under pressure, especially when batting second. Will probably qualify for the semi-finals. 

-Yokohama Country & Athletics Club C.C. 
Ageing team. many new faces . Might run into trouble making numbers. All will depend on their first two or three games. 
Kamran Ali, Avinash Jadhav and Mark Ferris to follow for their allround abilities. 

FORECAST: 
1- Giants, 2- Friends, 3-Indian Engineers, 4- Millennium, 5-YCAC, 6- Kytes, 7- Fuji Far East, 8- Adore 

Division 2: 
Group A: 
A very open group, but weaker than Group B  
4 teams will be vying for the 2 semi-final spots with almost an equal chance. Coming to games with a full team shall be the vital factor! 

Clubs: 
-Ichihara C.C. 
Newcomers. A motley of nationalities, including a couple of Japanese players. Might turn out to be a good team, although they might be considered a force by next year as their groun will attract more members. 

-MAX C.C. 
Will struggle this year again. A few good players who shall take the opportunity for experience. 

Serendib C.C. 
Might create a couple of surpises this year. Depends on whether they can maintain their numbers. Brittle batting, but sold bowling on their day. Slow starters. 

-Tokyo Bay Districts C.C. 
Same as MAX, but very erratic in spite of a couple of good players, unfortunately too isolated. 
Ken Wadano's bowling to follow. 

-Tokyo British Embassy C.C. 
Quite a few new names this year. A good all-round team when all players are available. Usually statrts  strong but struggles at the end of the season.  
To follow: Thomas Goodwin's wicket-keeping, Brent Kininmont, David envall and Stuart black's all round abilities, Damian benson's batting  and A. King's bowling. 

Wombats C.C. 
Another new team. Composed of Ozzies only (so far...) around Jarrad Shearer. Might struggle to make numbers. Unknown quantity, too. 

FORECAST: 
1-  British Embassy, -2 Wombats, 3- Serendib, 4- Ichihara, 5- MAX, -6 Tokyo Bay Districts 

GROUP B: 
A very open and difficult group. 
Lots of work for the Umpires with 3 good all-Pakistani teams! 
Those Pakistani teams might not be the best, actually. Wyverns could create more than one upset! 

Clubs: 
-Bangladesh Tigers C.C.: 
A bunch of very nice blokes. Have proven greatly improved. Could provoke the surprise. Monir Morshed to follow.

-Gunma XI Star C.C. 
New team. Seems very strong on paper and judging from pre-season friendly match won against Division 1 Giants. All-Pakistani cast. Shall prove the team to beat when they can make the numbers. Otherwise might easily lose status. Might squeezein the semi-finals.

-Lalazar Sports C.C. 
New team. Seems very strong on paper.Slight doubts about players' abilities, though. To follow: Aqeel Uhr Rehman. has disppointed since. Will need at leats one more year to rebuild.

-Pakistan Eaglets C.C. 
Missed promotion last year through indiscipline and arrogance. Might get their revenge if luck on their side.Do not always make numbers and brittle under pressure, though. 
one player banned for two years. Will have to wait until next year before proving themselves.

-Wyverns C.C. 
Did spring a few nasty surprises! Very dedicated outfit with overseas experience. Useful wicket-keeper in T. Chino. Gavin Bearth will provide the runs with Y. Hirose, while Junmei Hanada, K. Yannai, G. Beath and Hideharu Kojima will form a solid-looking attack with the ball. 

FORECAST: 

1- Wyverns, 2- Gunma XI Star, 3- Bangladesh tigers, 4-Lalazar Sports, 5- Pakistan Eaglets

Robert-Gilles Martineau