5 Cricketers Who Played Other Sports Before Making The Jump to Cricket

2) Jonty Rhodes

The legendary South African is known for raising the benchmark in terms of fielding. He was one of the very first people to give importance to that aspect of the game. His agility, however, was developed while playing a different sport.

Jonty represented South Africa in Hockey and was part of the team that almost qualified for the 1992 Olympics. He didn’t quit and made an attempt in the next edition, but a hamstring injury kept him out from the game. He continued playing Cricket and retired in 2003.

3) Brendon McCullum

The maverick wicket-keeper batsman can set the stage on fire with his batting pyrotechnics. On the field, when he’s not wicket-keeping, he’s a livewire. His strength and durability come from playing Rugby for the New Zealand side.

Brendon McCullum was pretty good at the sport if a few people are to be believed. Dan Carter, a legendary rugby player, was kept on the sidelines because of McCullum. Nevertheless, his switch to Cricket would have made New Zealand cricket fans happy. He returned to rugby briefly in 2018, even though he played just one game before leaving.