Anika Bester’s life path has already made pit stops in Kuils River and Plettenberg Bay. These days she is in Europe, where she not only delivers top performances for the Nantes Cricket Club, but also for the French national women’s team.
A few weeks ago she delivered a player of the match performance against Jersey. Her top bowling figures of 4/20 mean that France is one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup.
“I honestly never thought that I would play international cricket; and especially not for France. I studied to become a personal fitness trainer and I practiced different sports. I just played cricket in the street with my father and brother; this is where I learned to bowl,” she revealed from France.
Although her medium/fast bowling often colors a scorebook with another wicket or two, Erik le Roux believes that her nimble fielding is one of her greatest weapons.
Le Roux is not only a cooking guru and co-presenter of the popular Edict of Nantesseries, but he is also the captain and caretaker of the Nantes Cricket Club.
“Anika is very athletic. Small, but as fast as a rocket and definitely the best fielder in the French team. She is also extremely competitive and she often questions a referee when she does not agree with the decision.”
According to Le Roux, Bester regularly plays with the club’s senior men’s team.
“She has already bowled me over – not that it is a difficult task – but now she calls me ‘uncle’ or ‘grandfather’. And she has every right.”
Bester tells that she moved to Nantes precisely with a view to her cricket career. After all, it is one of the few places in France that has a decent bat sheet.
“Now I get more chance to train and the field is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in France. At the same time, I enjoy the people I play with.”
So along with her training and playing duties, she also gives cricket lessons at local schools to give the sport a marketing boost.
“I am a bowler and a real street cricket batsman, if I can describe it that way. When I bat, I just want to hit the ball; defensive shots do not yet exist in my repertoire. So I prefer bowling, but my favorite discipline is fielding – I’ll jump for any ball.”
A lack of training facilities – we are not talking about Nantes here – is one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of French cricket success.
“Cricket is not yet very popular in France and it can be difficult to work in a good training session. We rarely train together as a team. Still, everyone gives their best and I believe that we are a good team with a lot of talent; we just don’t always get the opportunity to improve ourselves.”
How on earth does one appeal for a leg before wicket decision in French?
“At least I can speak and understand the language now, but it’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn in my life. It’s a very beautiful language, but seriously, it’s complicated! Fortunately, most cricket jargon is in English – we still have fun shouting howzat.”
When speaking of a batsman in France, they say “batteur” or “batteuse”, while a bowler is “lanceur” or “lanceuse”.
“My biggest cricket dream is to one day play in a World Cup tournament and if I play for the French, I would very much like to be in action against the Proteas.”
