In 1996, a young bowler playing against the Bangladesh national cricket side dismissed two batsmen with consecutive balls -- the first delivered with his right arm, the second with his left.

If that astonishing feat had been performed by a high-profile player such as Australia's Shane Warne or Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand, it would instantly have become the stuff of legend. However, as the bowler was Tetsuo Fuji, a 20-year-old playing for Japan in its first-ever international tournament, it rated little more than a handful of small, wry headlines on a few of the sports pages in the world's newspapers.

Although Japan was comprehensively mauled in that tournament in Kuala Lumpur -- managing to concede 457 runs in a one-day match against Fiji, and being bowled out for just 17 runs by the United Arab Emirates -- Fuji's double-whammy gave a glimpse of what could happen if the country ever wholeheartedly embraced the game.