5 Cricketers who played other sport before playing cricket

There is one thing about sports. The confidence and instinct from one sport naturally helps a person to develop skills from another sport. A footballer could be great in athletics while a hockey player could use his instincts to learn basketball quickly. Basically, it all boils down to mental toughness and physical strength which all sports require.

Over the years, we have seen several individuals who have aced two sports. It’s very rare to see a person playing two sports at the same time, but it has happened in the past. For instance, back in the day, Sir Ian Botham and Sir Vivian Richards were two prominent cricketers who had also played a fair bit of professional football. In this article, we will discuss some more legends who have played some other sport and not just cricket.

5 Cricketers who played other sport before playing cricket:

1. Ellyse Perry

Ellyse Perry is one of the finest all-rounders to have played the game. As she a woman cricketer, she might not get the same amount of fame as other male cricketers but her record is just too good to ignore. In 112 ODI matches, Perry has scored 3022 runs at an average of 52.1. Other than this, she has also picked up 152 wickets average of 24.29.

If that record isn’t something to be proud of, then we don’t know what else is. But Perry is a true all-rounder in real-life. Other than being the one of the the best all-rounders ever to have played the game, she is also a full-time soccer player. She has represented Australia football team at the international level 18 times.

She has also played for Canberra United and Sydney FC, two prominent clubs of Australian women’s football. Interestingly, the 29-year-old made her debut for Australia in both cricket and football at the age of 16. She has also represented the Australian women’s team at the World Cup in both football and cricket.

2. AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is one of the finest batsmen to have played the game of cricket. Belonging to a family full of sports enthusiasts, AB had always been engaged in sports from a very young age. De Villiers, who went on to lead the South African team in a World Cup and also become one of the best batsmen to have come in out of the country, always had a knack of playing all sorts of sports.

To this day, there is a certain myth regarding AB de Villiers that runs across the media that he has represented South Africa in several sports such as hockey, badminton and table tennis. However, de Villiers himself has refuted all the reports.

During an interview in 2016, de Villiers had revealed that he was a good player of hockey in a school. He said he had also played a lot of sports. ABD also admitted that he wasn’t as good to be selected for the national team but he made his work cut out for the school hockey team. Eventually, he decided to leave hockey to pursue a career in cricket and well rest, as they say, is history.

3. Jonty Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes is known as one of the best fielders to ever play the game and indeed he was. Back in 1992, when he made his debut for South Africa the world had not seen a better fielder than Jonty. But all his skills of running around the field had come from a different sport.

Rhodes was a very good hockey player and in fact, he was also selected for the South African Olympic hockey team which was supposed to go to the 1992 Olympics Games in Barcelona. Unfortunately, the team failed to qualify and Rhodes could never make it to the Olympics. In 1996, he again gave the trials for the hockey team for the Olympics but a hamstring injury forced him out of the side.

Rhodes kept playing for the South Africa cricket team until his retirement in 2003. Since then, he has been coaching several teams across the globe and has been an ardent adventurist and traveller.

4. Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum was a multitalented cricketer. A solid wicketkeeper, a hard-hitting batsman and a very strategic captain on the field. However, a lot of people may not know this that McCullum was an outstanding rugby player back in his teenage years. There is a legend that runs across New Zealand which says that McCullum could have made it to the national rugby team, had he not chosen cricket over the sport.

Back in 2000, Brendon McCullum had played so well in a season that Dan Carter, the famous Kiwi rugby player and Brendon’s then-teammate, had to be left out. Carter went on to become one of the greatest rugby players of all time. The fact that he had to warm branches for another player means that player must have been really good. And McCullum was that good.

After retiring from cricket, McCullum briefly returned to playing rugby in 2018. But this stint did not last for a long time as he played only one game and never returned. McCullum is currently the head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

5. Suzie Bates

Suzie Bates is somebody who has, over the years, become a prominent figure in the women’s cricket. Having played 124 ODIs and scored 4534 runs at an average of 42, Bates is a leading player for the New Zealand team. Not just this, she also has accounted 75 wickets in those 124 matches.

However, apart from being a good all-rounder and a brilliant captain, Suzie Bates was also an extremely good basketball player. She was so good that she represented her country in basketball women’s team. She had also played for New Zealand in the sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

She had a short career in basketball but continued to play cricket for the national team. As of 2020, she is one of the most important players in the New Zealand team. She has also played in several leagues across the globe and continues to thrill everyone with her all-round skills.