Sir Vivian Richards – Football
One of the most intimidating batsman of all time is Sir Isaac Vivian Richards. He had brilliance, class and aggressiveness in his batting. Whenever he stepped out on the pitch, the opposition remained in fear. Throughout his 17-year-long career, he scored 8540 Test runs at an average of 50.24 with 24 centuries. Along with that he also scored 6000 ODI runs at 47.
He won the 1975 and 1979 World Cups with the West Indies. Apart from that Richards also played international sport of football. He played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches for Antigua and Barbuda. In the English Premier League, Richards favorite team in Liverpool FC.
Richards was appointed the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1994. He received Antigua’s highest award, the Knight of the Order of the National Hero (KNH), in 2006. The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua has been built by the West Indies cricket board. Since 2007 World Cup, matches are being played in the stadium.
Jonty Rhodes – Hockey
He is the greatest fielder of all time in the history of cricket. No one can forget his leap and dive to run-out Inzamam-ul-Haq. He was called a plane, a cheetah and by other names. Jonty made backward point position very important.
All his athleticism could be accredited for his passion to play hockey. He played in the South African team which failed to qualify for the 1992 Olympics. Later Rhodes was called for the trials of the 1996 Olympics. However he couldn’t play due to hamstring injury.
Despite being a great fielder, Jonty’s bat remained silent until 1998. After that he made a few changes in his batting technique. This changed everything as he averaged 45 and 50 in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Jonty is currently the fielding coach of South Africa and Mumbai Indians.