10 Cricketers who had interesting alternate professions

If you thought that all the cricketers never did anything apart from playing cricket, you will need to revisit your opinion. In fact, there have been them who have had proper alternate professions either before or after their playing days.Some did it for earning money, some did it for the sake of getting closer to the game and some because they had simply not imagined that they would become cricketers one day. We have dug a bit into the history of cricket and pulled out a few cricketers who had the most interesting alternate professions.Let’s take a look at 10 among them:

#10 Mitchell Johnson - Plumbing van driver

Mitchell Johnson drove plumbing vans for a living

Recently retired Aussie paceman Mitchell Johnson also had an interesting alternate profession before he started playing for his national team. There was a point in his early career when he lost out on his state side Queensland’s contract due to a string of back-to-back injuries. This prompted the fearsome fast bowler to drive plumbing vans for a living alongside striving on the cricket field to find his way back into the state team, which he later succeeded in doing.

This was followed by him being picked for the national team a few years later.

#9 Aubrey Smith - Actor

Aubrey Smith of England made a name for himself on the silver screen

England’s Aubrey Smith made the transition from being a first-class cricketer who also played a Test, to a popular Hollywood actor. Smith worked alongside some of the best actresses of his time such as the iconic Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo and Vivien Leigh. Some of his popular films include The Prisoner of Zenda, The Four Feathers, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Hitchcock’s Rebecca among several others.

There have been a few cricketers who have ventured into acting territory, but none is greater than Aubrey Smith.

#8 Nathan Lyon - Groundsman

Nathan Lyon was a groundsman who later represented the national side

Nathan Lyon would never have imagined that one day he would be a regular feature in the Australian Test side, particularly considering the fact that he was a member of the ground staff at the Adelaide Oval. His role in the ground staff was that of a tractor boy.

He was spotted by the coach of the South Australia cricket team Darren Berry who drafted him to play in the Big Bash League for the Southern Redbacks and Lyon has not looked back since.

#7 Colin Croft - Airline Pilot

West Indies fast bowler Colin Croft was an air traffic controller in his playing days

Colin Croft was one among the many great fast bowlers that West Indies produced over the years. During his playing days, Croft used to alternately work as an air traffic controller. In a very short career which lasted around 5 years, the lanky fast bowler made a name for himself by claiming 125 victims in just 27 Tests.

Once he had hung his boots, Croft once again took to the aviation industry as he went on to become a pilot for a commercial airline.

#6 Eddo Brandes - Farmer

Eddo Brandes’ alternate profession was farming

Zimbabwe’s bulky fast bowler Eddo Brandes had the most unlikely of professions that you may associate with a cricketer. Initially, Brandes used to be a chicken farmer in his home country.

Once he retired after a successful career for Zimbabwe, the pacer moved to Australia due to the growing political turmoil in his country. There he got engaged in tomato cultivation and has been doing the same since, apart from being involved in coaching as well.

#5 Brad Hodge - Employee at Petrol Pump

Brad Hodge worked at a petrol pump

Apart from being legend of Australian domestic cricket, Brad Hodge has also represented his national side in all three formats of the game. But do you know what he did for a living before becoming a cricketer? Well, Hodge earned his living by working at a petrol pump.

This may come as a surprise to many people but it is indeed true. However, since he became a regular in first-class cricket, cricket has been his only profession.

#4 Bill Woodfull - Teacher

Woodfull was a teacher who also played cricket

One of the former greats of Australian cricket, Bill Woodfull was a teacher by profession even while he pursued his cricketing career. He attended Melbourne High School as a kid and later on in his life went on to become a mathematics teacher in the same school.

After his retirement from cricket, Woodfull also became the Headmaster of the very institution where he taught and stayed at the position for six years. He is believed to have a very kind-hearted attitude towards fellow cricketers as a result of his being trained as a school teacher.

#3 Shane Bond - Police Officer

Shane Bond was a policeman before his cricketing sojourn

The job of a police officer is just about the perfect job that can be associated with a lethal fast bowler and this is exactly what happened in the case of New Zealand pacer Shane Bond. Before he began terrorising batsmen on the cricket pitch, Bond was busy being a terror to those engaged in criminal activity.

Perhaps, the disciplined approach that the Kiwi fast bowler displayed during his playing days was partially borrowed from his previous profession. There are other cricketers who were policemen before they took up the sport such as Dwayne Leverock of Bermuda, but Shane Bond certainly is the most popular one

#2 W.G. Grace - Doctor

The legendary English cricketer W.G. Grace was a doctor by profession

England’s W.G. Grace is one of the pioneers of cricket and is among the earliest legends that the game has seen. But not many know that the bearded genius was a doctor by profession.

He completed his medical education from Bristol Medical School at the age of 20, Grace entered the medical profession, thus becoming the most popular doctor to have played the game of cricket. Even his brother E.M. Grace was a doctor by profession before he took to playing cricket.

#1 MS Dhoni - Ticket Collector

MS Dhoni transformed from being a ticker collector to a trophy collector

India’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni used to be a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur Railway Station between the years 2001 and 2003. Cricket was always there as a part of his life and he took time off from his job to concentrate on the game.

Slowly things started to fall in place for MS Dhoni and the rest, as they say, is history. Dhoni’s story from being a ticket collector to a trophy collector is one of the most inspiring tales of achieving great success despite a modest background.