Top 5 Cricketing Rockstars On and Off the Field

In today’s era of specialization and hardcore professionalism, it’s hard to find cricketing personalities who’ve expressed themselves in multiple areas. But once in a while comes around the true-blue allrounder who’s not just content in excelling in any one department, but explored multiple avenues and disciplines with glittering success.Here’s a scout over the entire last century, to bring to you the top 5 of a good mix of past and present such cricketers and men.

#5 CB Fry

Charles Burgess Fry – The original AB de Villiers

If ever there was a term called “versatile genius”, it’s hard to find a man to whom it’s better applicable than Charles Burgess Fry, who played for England in the early 20th century.

Here’s a list of C.B Fry’s achievements:

First selected for the England cricket team for the tour to South Africa in 1896-97, he captained England in 6 Test matches in 1912, winning 4 and drawing 2. His Test career included 2 centuries. In first-class cricket, he had the then exceptionally high average of 50.22. In the early part of his career, he was also a successful fast-medium bowler with two 10 wicket hauls in first-class. He also has the distinction of scoring the most (6) successive first-class centuries.

In athletics, Fry won the Blues in all four years at Oxford 1892-95. In 1892, Fry broke the British long jump record with a jump of 23 feet 5 inches. In 1893 equalled the world long jump record of 23 feet 6 ½ inches. In addition to being an outstanding long jumper, sprinter and high jumper, Fry was also a talented hurdler. The champion hurdler of the time Godfrey Shaw was convinced if he took it up seriously, he might win the championship.

In football, he made his debut for Southampton F.C as an amateur and went on to help them win the Southern League. In 1901, he was picked to play as a full-back for England in a match against Ireland. In the season of 1901-02, he played in the FA CUP final for Southampton. As a matter of fact, the following 2 seasons, he changed his position from a defender to a center forward, albeit without much success!

Fry also played rugby union for Oxford, narrowly missing out on a place in an England trial game.

Apart from all these sports Fry was also a decent shot-putter, hammer thrower and ice-skater, as well as a proficient golfer.

Outside of sports, Fry was an established journalist, writer, editor, publisher, academic, politician and commentator. He shared the illustrious podium with writers such as Neville Cardus and Jack Fingleton. In commentary, he was described as one of the most eloquent in history.

As crazy as it might sound, the man was even offered the throne of Albania, which he had declined.

In the words of John Arlott about Fry: “He was probably the most variously gifted Englishman of any age.”

#4 Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev is one of India’s most decorated

When it comes to multi-dimensional cricketing stars, India’s very own “Haryana Hurricane” Kapil Dev, definitely cannot be left out. The first World Cup winning captain of India, one of the finest all-rounders in the game and India’s 2nd highest wicket-taker in Tests, the charismatic cricketer added more feathers to his cap after retiring.

While his long association with television networks are well known, Kapil grabbed news headlines due to his infamous associations with the (now non-existent) Indian Cricket League.

By September 2008, he joined the Indian Territorial Army, as an honorary officer.

Also owns a chain of restaurants called the Captain’s Eleven, in Chandigarh and Patna, and has many other business interests.

Last but not the least, Kapil took up golf in a major way after retirement. In 2000, he became the only Asian founding member of the Laureus Foundation. The foundation also included cricketers Ian Botham and Viv Richards.

He’s also penned 3 autobiographies, with the latest one Straight from the Heart being released in 2004.

His awards include:

Arjuna Award
Padma Shree
Padma Bhushan
Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Century
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame

#3 Imran Khan

Imran Khan is famous to many as PTI Chairman

A World Cup winning Pakistani captain, one of the finest allrounders in the game, an Oxford graduate, philanthropist, politician and a playboy. While his exploits on the cricket pitch are now stuff of folklores, the ones off the pitch are quite remarkable as well.

Found the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation which established Pakistan’s first and only cancer hospital. He also established a technical college, and has his own Imran Khan Foundation.

His work for politics is well documented, having founded his party – Tehreek-e-Insaf in 1996. In 2013, the Global Post mentioned him 3rd in a list of 9 world leaders. For the majority of his political career, he’s remained as the figurehead of the chief opposition party of Pakistan.

In 1995, Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, an Englishwoman with Jewish ancestry. The couple split in 2004. By January 2015, Khan married for the 2nd time, this time British-Pakistani journalist Reham Khan.

His list of awards include:

Honorary fellow at Oxford’s Keble College
Icc Hall of Fame
Fifth chancellor of the University of Bradford
Asia Society’s Person of the Year (2012)

#2 Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh with his Australia teammates

One of the most multi-faceted personalities of the modern sporting era. Waugh was one of the most successful captains in cricketing history, a part of 2 World Cup winning sides, and the Test side to have recorded the most number of consecutive victories (16), of all time.

Waugh represented not just a great batting, or a style of captaincy, even handy medium-pace bowling skills (famously having taken the most crucial wicket of the 1987 WC final), but also a certain school of thought which inspired many latter young cricketers. Waugh’s aggressive and mental gameplay, intimidated opposition sides and happen to have remained the stuff of legends.

Apart from cricket, Steve Waugh helped in raising funds for a leper children’s colony called “Udayan”, in Kolkata. His foundation in Australia is aimed at children who have a disease, an illness or an affliction that does not meet the set criteria of other charitable organisations.

An avid photographer, Waugh has produced his own images in several of his “Tour Diaries”. A prolific writer as well, he writes for numerous newspapers, and unlike fellow cricketers does not take the help of professional journalists for penning his articles. His autobiography Out of My Comfort Zone, and his subsequent book The Meaning of Luck, as well as multiple Tour Diaries are so profound they would interest even practising psychiatrists!

Apart from all this, Waugh has also worked as an athletics liaison officer for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and as the psychological mentor of the Australian football side, during the Asian Cup.

His honours tally include:

Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
Australian Sports Medal
Australian of the Year (2004)
Order of Australia
Australian Living Treasure.

#1 Brett Lee

One of the fastest bowlers to have ever played International cricket (with the 2nd fastest ball ever recorded in history, at 160. 8 km/h against New Zealand in 2005), with 310 Test and 380 One Day International wickets. He was also a handy lower order batsman, and a great athlete on the field.

He was a part of one of the most successful Test sides of all time, and also 2 consecutive limited overs World Cup winning ones.

Lee’s other talents lay in music, acting and commentating. He’s the guitarist of the rock band Six & Out, made up of his brother Shane and former New South Wales cricketers Brad McNamara, Gavin Robertson and Richard Chee Quee. While playing in the 2006 Champions Trophy in India (which his team had won), Lee wrote the lyrics “You’re the One for Me”, and recorded it with Asha Bhosle. The song reached a peak position of number 2 in Indian and South African charts.

While his interest in working for Bollywood is well documented, he’s already filmed his debut scenes for a Bollywood movie Victory (2008).