04 Apr Interview with Janet Lester
Involved with the club since 1973-2022 50 years next year! Previous player, current scorer and favourite tea lady. Previous social secretary and current treasurer, club house manager and tea rota organiser.
When did you first get introduced to cricket ?
Well, I’ve been brought up with cricket since I was a little girl, my first memories of the sport was riding on the back of my fathers bike to Bourton and Frankton to watch him play cricket in the late 1940’s (post war). From then I began scoring for Bilton cricket club when my Dad moved there and that’s where my love for scoring began, I’ve enjoyed both the sport and scoring since then.
What brought you to Barby and the club ?
After the birth of my daughter Kerry, we had always decided we would then want to move back to a village. We looked around a few of the local area’s and decided to move to Barby as we found the perfect house with a large garden and surrounding fields for lots of sport. One day in 1973 we had a knock on the door, I opened it and there stood a young Neville Weston, asking if my husband Don wanted to come and have a game at Barby as they had just reformed the club after the war. The rest is history !!!
How has Barby Cricket Changed since you first came here ?
Barby Cricket Club has changed so much since we first came here. We have gone from only playing friendly village games, changing in an old Italian prisoner of war hut and having to travel to the village hall for a cricket tea to now playing competitive league cricket, we have much more modern facilities and we now even have an Instagram page, whatever that means ?!!
What are some of your most memorable moments at the BCC ?
There has of course been the big ones including winning the midweek league KO cup not only once but three times as well as being ladies team captain for many years.
What are your hopes of the future for Barby ?
My hopes for the future of the BCC is to keep progressing as a club and get back to where we were before COVID. I also hope we keep bringing on board more juniors and therefore preparing for the next generation of cricket at Barby, which would be amazing. My biggest dream for me would be Harry captaining the firsts however, I can’t see that happening anytime soon 😊
Finally, the most important question… is it jam or cream first ?
Jam first ! ALWAYS