The woman leading Cameroonian cricket's 'Roger Milla' generation

ByDewah Fabrice Teh

Sports writer, Cameroon

When Madeleine Nseke Sissako began playing cricket aged nine in Yaounde, those who poked fun at her and her team-mates drew an unlikely comparison.

"They mocked us and said we looked like Ninja Turtles," the Cameroonian told BBC Sport Africa. "Because we were carrying sticks [and] they didn't know what they were for.

"Many of our neighbours didn't believe in the sport."

Nseke Sissako has since established herself as one of the leading professional cricketers in the Central African nation.

The sport is almost a way of life for her family, with eight of the Nsekes either past or present Cameroon internationals across senior and age-grade sides.

Nseke Sissako, however, initially took some persuading about the merits of cricket from her older brother Abanda Protais.

"We were always together while we grew up," the 29-year-old said.

"I accompanied him whenever he went out to play.

"At the beginning I didn't really like it, but he convinced me and guided me through the basics."

The Women's T20 World Cup is currently taking place in England and Wales, and South Africa, runners-up at the last two editions, are the only African nation ever to appear at the tournament.

Nseke Sissako, who has been motivated by those performances, has big ambitions for cricket in her homeland - and is also taking inspiration from one of the country's best-known footballing trailblazers.

"My motivation pushes me to make more effort.

"Certainly, we are already kind of in the Roger Milla generation of our sport domestically."

Improving fortunes

When you say the word cricket to most people in Cameroon, the first thing that springs to mind will be the insects of the same name.

But batter-wicketkeeper Nseke Sissako aims to make the country "one of the biggest cricket-playing nations in Africa and globally".

She is captain and head coach of Emergence Ladies Cricket Club, which is based in the Mvog Ada neighbourhood of the capital, and has played for Cameroon's women, nicknamed the Cricket Lionesses, since 2021.

The side are currently 67th in the world T20 rankings, out of 79 sides, but Nseke Sissako says they are slowly improving after victories over Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique last year.

"We have grown a lot," she said.

"When we just started competing, we were outsiders. We always ended up being the weakest team.

"Previously, we mostly travelled for international competitions just to have the chance to take photos, eat and experience travelling internationally."

Nseke Sissako's father Eugene Nseke Toube, a former professional footballer, is supportive of his daughter's exploits on the field but believes she "still has a lot to learn".

"I always tell her that she must continue to work. If she doesn't work, she won't be able to achieve her dreams," he told BBC Sport Africa.

"We can only encourage her to go forward and perform. Where she is now, it's not the top."

Beginnings as a 'laughing stock'

Cricket was introduced to Cameroon in 2003 as part of project spearheaded by Victor Agbor-Nso, who is now the president of the country's governing body (Fecacricket).

"We started cricket from zero. People did not know about it," he told BBC Sport Africa.

"It was a mockery, a laughing stock."

However, it grew sufficiently to become an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2007, and Agbor-Nso says the Nseke family, who received a special award from the federation last year, have "contributed tremendously" to its growing profile.

"The Nsekes have been quite important in making us realise the dream of cricket, beginning from scratch and becoming a sporting discipline people can look up to."

There are currently 22 clubs in the country, split between a dozen men's and 10 women's sides, with over 550 registered top-level players.

But Agbor-Nso estimates there are hundreds more spread across youth teams and academies, with around 70,000 who are learning the sport nationwide – predominantly through initiatives in schools.

Financial struggles

A lack of specialised cricket-playing facilities and equipment remains one of Cameroon's biggest challenges.

"With the stadium, you can have everything," Nseke Sissako said, discussing the lack of an international-standard cricket venue.

"If we have the right ground to play cricket, Cameroon will do very well at the global level."

Fecacricket also faces money struggles, with Agbor-Nso highlighting that the body raises barely a third of what it targets annually in terms of income.

He says that is hindering Fecacricket from achieving its objectives despite support from the International Cricket Council and Cameroon's government.

"Our ambitions are extremely great," he explained.

"What they are giving is extremely insignificant. We are working on having some sponsors to come in and help."

Boosting the women's game

Fecacricket is taking steps to ensure that it evenly invests the resources that it does have in promoting the growth of the women's game, with Agbro-Nso pointing to Nseke Sissako as a role model.

"We used to allocate about 20% of what we have to women's cricket, but everything has changed," he said.

"It is a whole revolution. We have to head to 50-50."

Nseke Sissako, meanwhile, is playing her part in inspiring the next generation of female cricketers, serving as Cameroon coach during recent African qualifiers for the 2026 Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup.

"What is left to do is continue working and believing in ourselves," she said.

"We have to enhance the sport's visibility and continue planting the game at school level through specialised development programmes."

As those in Cameroonian cricket target development, Nseke Sissako is throwing her support behind South Africa at the ongoing Women's T20 World Cup.

"I am always going to support South Africa, because it is thanks to South Africa that the rest of the world is now having an interest on Africa.

"South Africa's victory will really boost the sport in other countries in the region like Cameroon."