- Shamser Khalid
6 Cricketers Who Also Played Football
Plenty of cricket players are known for their skills on the field. Among these players, some have also shown skills in other sports. Specifically, there are and have been cricketers that played football and became memorable for their time playing the sport. These are just some cricketers who have also played football and succeeded in it:
Players Who made a Mark in Football
1. Ellyse Perry
Ellyse Perry is one of the rare modern-day athletes to have a dual international sporting career. She debuted in both international cricket and football at the age of 16 and managed to balance her schedule for both sports.
However, in 2012, she was made to choose between the two sports. Due to clashing schedules over the years, she played her final football Women's League match in 2015.
When Perry was both a footballer and cricketer, she played for her country and the Sydney Football Club in the Women's League, the top professional football league for women in Australia.
She won the ICC Women’s World Cup and the World T20 twice. She also participated in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011.
2. Denis Compton
Recognized as one of the greatest English cricketers in history, Denis Compton is one of the few English batsmen to have an average of over 50 in Test cricket. He is an ICC hall of fame inductee, the former Middlesex captain is only one of 25 batsmen to have scored over a hundred centuries in first-class cricket.
While playing for his country in international cricket Compton also played as a winger for the Arsenal Football Club. During his time with Arsenal, Compton won the FA Cup in 1950, to go with a league title in 1948 with the North London side.
One notable time his cricket and football skills crossed was when he ran Vijay Merchant out by kicking the ball onto the stumps from mid-on in a 1946 cricket match.
3. Sir Vivian Richards
Sir Vivian Richards was an international cricketer who had a lesser-known career as a footballer. He is, however, the only sportsman in history to represent his country in both World Cup cricket and World Cup football.
Richards was part of a World Cup-winning side in cricket on two occasions (1975 and 1979). He represented Antigua and Barbuda in the qualifiers for the 1974 World Cup in football.
While Richards did not make the biggest mark in football, he does have notable records in cricket. During his cricket career, he was known for his aggressive batting and achieved Test and ODI averages of 50.23 and 47, respectively.
Players Who Played a Brief Period
1. Sir Ian Botham
Sir Ian Botham is regarded as one of the greatest cricketers in history and known as an icon among English cricket fans in the 1980s. He was undisputed as the country's leading all-rounder and within three years he was named captain and led the England team to many famous triumphs.
In March 1980, he signed for lower league side Scunthorpe United and made a total of 11 appearances for the Irons. Botham could have played for bigger clubs but in the end, chose to stick with cricket. He attempted to revive his football career at Yeovil Town after a few years but was unsuccessful.
2. CB Fry
CB Fry was a versatile athlete that made his mark in cricket history. Not only did he show skills in cricket and football, but he also briefly played rugby. Fry’s biggest claim to fame, after being a cricketer, is the fact that he once held the world record for the long jump.
Fry played in 26 Tests in cricket and just one international in football. One of the most memorable moments in his career was when he took part in the 1902 FA Cup final with Southampton, having played in every game en route to the final.
3. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is an Indian professional goalkeeper for the Indian men’s national football team. He is known for being the only Indian player to have played in the Europa League. Sandhu is also the inaugural Indian to play a competitive match for the first team of a top-division European club.
There was a time that Sandhu attempted a career in football before he played cricket. Not much was noted about his time as a footballer other than it did come to fruition, and Sandhu found his skill was more towards cricket.
