T20 WC 2028 EAP Qualifier 2026 Fixtures: JPN, PNG, VAN

If you're tracking the T20 World Cup 2028 pathway, the East-Asia Pacific (EAP) qualifier in 2026 is staged across Brisbane and its suburbs, runs as a six-team round-robin plus a final, and offers two qualifier slots into the global T20 WC 2028 qualifier in 2027. Papua New Guinea, Japan, Vanuatu, the Philippines, Indonesia and Samoa make up the entry list. ICC.tv carries every fixture worldwide. Here's the full read.

Fixture Grid

The qualifier runs across 9 days. Group A: PNG, Japan, Vanuatu. Group B: Philippines, Indonesia, Samoa. Top two from each group advance to a Super-4 round-robin, then a final.

Day	Match	Group	Local (AEST)	IST
1	PNG vs Japan	A	14:00	09:30
1	Philippines vs Indonesia	B	18:30	14:00
2	Vanuatu vs Japan	A	14:00	09:30
2	Samoa vs Indonesia	B	18:30	14:00
3	PNG vs Vanuatu	A	14:00	09:30
3	Philippines vs Samoa	B	18:30	14:00
4	Rest day	—	—	—
5	Super-4 G1	—	14:00	09:30
5	Super-4 G2	—	18:30	14:00
6	Super-4 G3	—	14:00	09:30
6	Super-4 G4	—	18:30	14:00
7	Super-4 G5	—	14:00	09:30
7	Super-4 G6	—	18:30	14:00
9	Final	—	14:00	09:30

Venues Across Brisbane

The qualifier uses three Brisbane-area grounds. Pitch profiles vary slightly across them.

Venue	City	Capacity	Pitch profile
Allan Border Field	Albion (Brisbane)	4,000	Even bounce, true
Western Sub-Districts CC	Mt Gravatt East	1,500	Slow, low
Bishop Park	Nundah	800	Quick, two-paced

The final is locked at Allan Border Field. Group games rotate.

Squad Watch and Probable Bench Strength

Papua New Guinea (favourites to top Group A)

No.	Player	Role
1	Tony Ura	Opener
2	Lega Siaka (c)	Opener
3	Sese Bau	Middle-order
4	Charles Amini	Middle-order
5	Chad Soper	All-rounder
6	Hila Vare (wk)	Wicketkeeper
7	Norman Vanua	All-rounder
8	Damien Ravu	Pace
9	Kabua Vagi Morea	Pace
10	Sema Kamea	Spinner
11	Alei Nao	Pace

PNG's edge in EAP cricket is depth. They have at least 14 squad players capable of playing this level.

Japan probable

No.	Player	Role
1	Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming	Opener
2	Wataru Miyauchi	Opener
3	Lachlan Lake	Top-order
4	Charles Hinze	Middle-order
5	Masaomi Kobayashi (wk)	Wicketkeeper
6	Sabaorish Ravichandran	All-rounder
7	Marcus Thurgate (c)	All-rounder
8	Ibrahim Takahashi	Spinner
9	Kohei Kubota	Pace
10	Shogo Kimura	Pace
11	Yugandhar Retoju	Spinner

Japan's rise has been the EAP cricket story of the last cycle.

Vanuatu probable

No.	Player	Role
1	Andrew Mansale	Opener
2	Patrick Matautaava	Opener
3	Junior Tari	Top-order
4	Jelany Chilia	Middle-order
5	Apolinaire Stephen	Middle-order
6	Joshua Rasu (c)	All-rounder
7	Nalin Nipiko	All-rounder
8	Clement Tommy	Pace
9	Obed Yosef	Spinner
10	Tony Toa	Spinner
11	Trevor Langa	Pace

Broadcast Grid

ICC.tv carries every fixture; selected territories also get free-to-air partners.

Region	Stream / TV	First-ball local (Day 1, 14:00 AEST)
Worldwide	ICC.tv	—
Australia	ICC.tv + Cricket Australia digital	14:00 AEST
India	FanCode	09:30 IST
UK	ICC.tv	04:00 BST
USA	ICC.tv / Willow App	23:00 ET (D-1)
Japan	Cricket Japan YouTube + ICC.tv	13:00 JST
PNG	EMTV + ICC.tv	13:00 PGT
Indonesia	Cricket Indonesia YouTube	11:00 WIB

Tickets and Venue Access

Tier	Price (AUD)	Notes
Pavilion reserved	$20	Allan Border Field only
General admission	$12	All grounds, BYO chair
Children under 12	Free	All grounds
Day pass (3-game)	$25	All matches on date

Tickets are sold on the gate at sub-grounds; advance ticketing for Allan Border Field via Cricket Australia portal opens four weeks before the qualifier starts.

Qualification Math

Top two from this EAP qualifier go to the global T20 WC 2028 qualifier in 2027 (alongside Africa, Americas, Asia and Europe qualifiers). From that 14-team event, four advance to the T20 WC 2028 main draw in Australia and New Zealand.

Path	Step	Outcome
EAP Qualifier 2026	Top 2 advance	To global qualifier 2027
Global Qualifier 2027	Top 4 advance	To T20 WC 2028 main draw
T20 WC 2028	20 teams total	Australia + New Zealand co-host

What to Watch

• PNG's 11-game unbeaten EAP run going into this qualifier.
• Japan's 22-year-old Marcus Thurgate's captaincy debut at this level.
• Vanuatu's spin pair of Yosef and Toa, who have combined for 38 EAP wickets in 2024-25.
• Indonesia's Anjar Tadarus, the EAP leading T20I run-scorer of 2025.

For broader pathway context, see the T20 World Cup 2028 Australia NZ co-host format explained, the T20 World Cup 2026 dark horses which teams can shock, and the ODI World Cup 2027 qualification pathway explained.

Quick FAQ

Is the qualifier T20I status? Yes. All games are full T20Is — stats and ICC ranking points apply.

What if a game is rained off? DLS applies. Cut-off after 5 overs each side.

Tickets on the day? Yes for all sub-grounds; Allan Border Field final tickets recommended in advance.

Where do top 2 go? Global T20 World Cup 2028 qualifier in mid-2027, hosted at a yet-to-be-confirmed neutral venue.