There are several excellent cricket players who dabbled in other sports before discovering their passion for the game. While many athletes specialise in one sport, there are also some exceptions that are skilled and expert in a variety of other sports. Despite the fact that it is hard for individuals to balance both, a lot of them have done so with great effort, but have finally chosen to focus solely on a single sport as a career. Many of the players in online fantasy cricket were also associated with some other sports before they began their career in cricket. There are a few cricketers who excel in other sports and also represented their country at the international level. They eventually elected to stick to cricket and are now regarded as legends of the game.
In this article, we will discuss about 4 cricketers who were previously associated with other sports before getting settled as one of the best bowlers or batsmen.
Brendon McCullum
Brendon McCullum, the former New Zealand captain, completed his career as one of the best batsmen in international cricket for the Black Caps. With his pure spirit, he not only awed the audience with his blazing knocks with the bat, but he also remained the ideal brand ambassador for the gentlemen sport. Brendon McCullum had played rugby for his school team at a higher level before switching to cricket. But he didn’t continue with the game even though he was impeccable at that sport. Then he finally decided on cricket, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry is one of the best all-rounders from the Australian women’s cricket team. Her records are enough to showcase her talents on the field and in online cricket fantasy games. Perry has scored 3022 runs with a strike rate of 52.1 in his 112 ODI appearances. She also has bagged 152 wickets at an average of 24.29 in her bowling career. She’s also the first Australian to play in the women’s football and cricket World Cups. At the early age of 16, she made her professional debut for both teams. Perry has also represented Sydney FC and Canberra United.
Jonty Rhodes
Jonty Rhodes was widely regarded as one of the best fielders to have ever graced in cricket. Following his breakthrough in 1992, he had already played 52 Test matches and 245 ODI International matches for South Africa, compiling a whopping total of 2,532 and 5,935 runs. However, many of you may not be aware of the fact that, apart from cricket, Rhodes was also highly trained in hockey. He was selected for South Africa’s National Hockey team to compete in the 1992 Olympics, however, the country failed to qualify for the competition. Later, Rhodes was selected for the 1996 edition but had to withdraw due to a hamstring injury.
Suzie Bates
This right-handed cricketer for the New Zealand Women’s Team is one of the few women who have dominated the ICC charts for several years. Her uncanny capacity to hit the ball high and her outstanding medium-pace bowling put her in the top tier of the game. Apart from being one of the finest all-rounders, Bates also mastered the art of captaincy with her superb skills on the field. Except for cricket, Bates also competed for New Zealand in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a basketball player. Bates stopped playing basketball when she was awarded the captaincy in 2011.
Conclusion
Once a sportsman always will be a sportsman. These players equally excelled at all the games they played previously but for every cricket fantasy apps, they are the cricket legends they all look up to.
Read More:
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3. Eccentric Superstitious of Cricketers Fantasy Cricketers Should Know