5 famous cricketers who also played professional football

It takes some special talent to represent one’s country in cricket, but to play football and cricket at the highest level requires an extraordinary effort. Only a select few have managed to play both sports at the professional level simultaneously.Here, we have a look at 5 famous cricketers who also played professional football:

#5 Sir Vivian Richards

While not much is known about Sir Viv’s footballing career as he gave up the sport early on after establishing himself as an international cricketer, it is a fact that he the only sportsman in history to represent his country in both World Cup cricket and World Cup football (albeit, just the qualifying stage).

While the now 62-year-old was part of a World Cup winning side in cricket on two occasions (1975 and 1979), he also represented Antigua and Barbuda in the qualifiers for the 1974 World Cup in football. Antigua finished bottom of their group with a goal difference of -19 after losing 1-11 to Trinidad and Tobago, and 0-6 to Suriname.

Richards’ football career might have fallen flat, but there are a few in history who can even come close to him when it comes to cricket. With Test and ODI averages of 50.23 and 47 respectively, he revolutionized the art of batting with the aggression he brought out to the middle.