5 cricketing greats who started out their careers in other sports
Extraordinary athleticismNot often does an exceptionally talented cricketer arrive who has also had a flair for other sports. The amount of dedication and hard work required to excel in cricket these days makes it almost impossible to play other sports professionally at the same time.But, extraordinary as it may seem, there are quite a few cricketers who had originally started out their careers in some other sport. Some of them even continued to play both the sports simultaneously balancing both their careers. Let us look at 5 cricketing greats who started out their careers in other sports.
#1 CB Fry
CB Fry is widely acknowledged to be one of the most versatile geniuses to have played the game of cricket. But Fry was a complete sportsman who was just as brilliant as a footballer. Before Fry played for Surrey in 1891, he had already displayed his aptitude as a defender with enviable pace.
Fry played football regularly at Repton School where he captained his school team and also signed up for the amateur football club called the Casuals. He turned out for the Casuals in the FA Cup at the age of sixteen and even captained the Oxford University football side. He signed up for the Corinthians in 1891 for whom he went on to play 74 matches between 1891 and 1903.
Fry was thus one of the few sportsmen who continued to play cricket and football simultaneously. He later signed up for Southampton FC and played every match for them in the 1902 FA Cup. Southampton eventually lost to Sheffield United in the final of that tournament.