There was a time when cricketers were talented athletes who excelled in several sports. A cricketer’s life in the 1940s was quite different from what it is today. Practicing cricket these days entails a lot of effort, and cricketers often spend a lot of time running between the gym and the cafeteria.
The cricket players rarely get to play any other sports, and no cricketer out there can claim to be a decent player of tennis or cricket, even if he picks up a good tennis racket once in a while. Even their are categories like best tennis racket for intermediate player or you need best expert level racket.
The cricketer’s game has evolved much over the last hundred years so has the cricketer himself evolved. Some cricketers have excelled at other sports to earn laurels for their respective countries as well. Take the case of Indian cricketer Kapil Dev, the legendary cricketer was a tennis ball champion during his days in Rohtak’s Sainik School and had even played a few games at the national level. Dev dominated the world of cricket as a fast bowler from 1979 to 1992 before calling it quits from international cricket.
During those days, cricketers seldom got injured and they excelled in tennis as well. A cricketer’s training regime was diverse, they never tired of running and were fit throughout the year, unlike today when cricketers get burnt out at the beginning of a long tour due to overwork.
List Of Tennis & Cricket Players
Few Tennis & Cricket players from the past are listed below. Check out these players;
Kenneth Gandar Dower
Gandar-Dower was also a good cricketer, although he has also participated In many other sports, including football, real tennis, squash. He attended Windlesham House School and Harrow School, where he played cricket. He became a leading tennis player competing in several tournaments in the 1930s. After becoming an aviator and explorer, he returned from Kenya with a dozen cheetahs in 1937, intending to race them on greyhound courses.
Tony Wilding
Tony Wilding was an outstanding tennis player from New Zealand. In addition to his tennis career, Wilding played two first-class cricket matches for Canterbury, the first in which he took 3 for 22 against Auckland. Four years from 1910 to 1913, he won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. His opportunity to compete in tennis or cricket was ruined by his death in action in 1915.
Ash Barty
In the past, Ash Barty also played cricket professionally. After she took a break from her tennis career in 2014, the Australian ace signed up to play in Australia’s premier T20 competition, the Women’s Big Bash League. Despite having no formal training, Barty participated in 10 matches and set the heat’s highest score at 39. After a few months, she realized that tennis was her calling instead of cricket, and turned back to that sport.
If there are other players you know excelled in both games, please let us know so that we will update our list of these unique sports personalities.
If you are looking to find out more on different sports players who played tennis than tennis predict is a good resource where you can find a complete data base of tennis players.
