When it comes to English sport, both Football and Cricket have their own space. Some even say that Football is the sport of the masses and Cricket is the sport of the classes. Whilst there is no doubt that Football by far is the most popular sport in England, Cricket with its newest format I.e T20 is also winning over the crowds. There is nothing similar about cricket and football apart from the 11 players a side rule, yet their paths collide quite often. Here are 5 footballers who played cricket at a decent level;
1) Gary Neville
Gary Neville was a Manchester United legend in the 90s and 2000s. However, very few know the fact that he was more than an able cricketer. In fact, in 1992, he made quite a name for himself playing for Greenmount CC. He shared a 236 run partnership with Aussie Legend Matthew Hayden in the semi-finals of Bolton league’s Hamer Cup.
2) Phil Neville
Much like his brother, Phil was also an integral part of the might Manchester United team at their pomp under Sir Alex Ferguson. If anything, he was an even more promising cricketer than his brother. At the young age of 15, he was good enough to play for Lancashire’s second XI and even went on to captain England U-15. Amongst the players that he captained was a certain Andrew Flintoff.
3) Sir Geoff Hurst
Hurst was England’s World Cup hero in 1966 and his hat trick against West Germany at Wembley is part of British sporting folklore. Not many know that in 1962 he played for the First XI of Essex County Cricket Club. His stint with the first XI didn’t go too well, but he continued plying his trade for the Second XI. Eventually in 1964 he decided to give up cricket to focus solely on football.
4) Steve Ogrizovic
Ogrizovic who was no less than a cult hero at Coventry City, also played for Liverpool, Chesterfield and Shrewsbury as a goalkeeper. While he was goalkeeping for Shrewsbury town, he played a bit of cricket for Shropshire County Cricket Club. He didn’t feature in many games but got the prized wicket of Master Blaster Sir Vivian Richards.
5) Dennis Compton
Wisden
Dennis Compton made more of a name for himself in cricket. He played 78 Test Matches for England and averaged above 50. Dennis Compton also played football for Arsenal. Arsenal won the league in 1937-38, 1947-48 and FA Cup in 1950 during Compton’s time. Dennis also played football for England on a dozen occasions, although these matches were not recognized as official matches due to the ongoing Second World War. Compton’s grandson, Nick Compton also went on to open for England in Test Match cricket.