Tee break: Joe Root thinks he could make it as a left-hand batter if this doesn't work out © Investec

There's a joke that goes something like this: What is the England cricket team's favourite sport? Athletes, as the finest specimen of human fitness and endurance, are naturally more likely to succeed at more than one sport than the rest of us civvies. There's also more at stake if they get injured doing those.

Golf perhaps has been among the most dangerous of these. It's taken out the biggest names in cricket - Glenn Maxwell fell off a golf cart and suffered a concussion, Jonny Bairstow slipped down a green and snapped his leg in three places, and Josh Inglis lacerated his hand when a golf club broke during a swing.

Football is the other sport that's claimed many victims as the warm-up activity of choice of most cricket teams - enough to populate a (non)-playing XI.

But it's not all doom and gloom on that end. Enough cricketers have had successful alternate careers in other sports. Not only was Denis Compton one of England's finest batters in the 1930s, he also successfully turned out for Arsenal, making 54 appearances.

It's a four, it's a six, it's a gooooal: Denis Compton shows impeccable footwork © Getty Images

Because cricket is not nearly enough a risky sport, the South African team picked rugby to warm up at the 1999 World Cup, no less.

That was the highest Alan Dawson was going to go at the 1999 World Cup, where he was in the reserves Gerry Penny / © AFP/Getty Images

Then there was Jeff Wilson, who played four ODIs at age 19 before turning his attention to rugby, and becoming a legendary Double All Black, one of the few to play at the highest level in both sports, though he returned to a fairly unremarkable cricket career after his rugby retirement at 28.

Ruck this: Jeff Wilson attempts to escape a tackle Phil Walter / © Getty Images

You can't keep cricketers away from balls seems to be the lesson here. In the photo below, the Indian team took a break on Sydney's Bondi Beach for a spot of beach volleyball on that fractious tour of Australia in 2007-08.

The Indian team sand up for themselves © AFP/Getty Images

No beach? No problem for the Australian cricket team on their tour of India in 2007 as they commandeered the hotel pool after a washout.

Not what the coach meant when he said to hit the nets Hamish Blair / © Getty Images

There's a long list of women's players who have straddled two sports with ease - Ellyse Perry, of course, still remains the only player to have played in both the cricket World Cup and the FIFA World Cup. Australian-born Courtney Winfield-Hill was a pace bowler for Queensland Fire and Brisbane Heat before moving countries to play rugby for England and made it all the way to the 2022 rugby World Cup before hanging up her boots. Her partner, Lauren Winfield-Hill, continues to play cricket for England.

Courtney Winfield-Hill makes a touchdown © Getty Images

Before Suzie Bates was the Women's World Cup-winning captain we know and love, she was part of New Zealand's basketball team at the 2008 Olympics.

Hoops, I did it again: Suzie Bates doesn't play defence Jesse D Garrabrant / © Getty Images

Has any other cricketer put his body on the line like Andrew Flintoff has? After a famous career in cricket, he had a brief stint as a boxer before he moved on to host Top Gear - on which he attempted stunts like driving off a dam in Rover Metro. He finally called time on the show after suffering two horrific accidents.

Right-hook Fred: Flintoff only played one professional boxing match, which he won on points Andrew Yates / © AFP/Getty Images

Brian McKechnie, another double All Black, holds a unique position in sport - he was involved in two controversial sporting incidents for New Zealand. In rugby, in 1978, he kicked the penalty which gave the All Blacks victory against Wales, a result of a bitterly disputed dive at a line-out. And in cricket, of course, he's best known as the batter at the receiving end of Trevor Chappell's underarm delivery.

McKechnie if you can: how many controversies is two many? © Getty Images

Cricket might have looked very different today had Ian Chappell, revor's older brother, decided to pursue his passion for baseball. Introduced to it by his grandfather Vic Richardson, who had represented both South Africa and Australia in the sport in the 1920s, Ian played at state level for South Australia before switching to cricket.

Ian Chappell knows how to swing a bat or two © Getty Images

Then there are those that realise they are just not cut out for more than one sport, like Alastair Cook, who couldn't get out of yacht racing quick enough.

Never mind elf on a shelf, have you seen GOAT off a boat? © Getty Images

Deepti Unni is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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