Everyone loves music.
Even people who claim to hate it like music.
It is soothing and has different genres giving individuals myriad choices of tunes to select their favourite.
Even cricketers love listening to songs. We know how Sachin Tendulkar is a massive fan of Lata Mangeshkar. However, he never pursued music.
Here we look at different cricketers who actually tailed and followed music, some of them even making a part-time career out of it –
Lets see a list of cricketers who also contributed towards music
Brett Lee
It is no secret that Brett Lee is one of the most menacing bowlers in cricket history. However, are you aware that the Australian paceman has his soul strung to music, besides cricket? He is part of a rock band called Six & Out which includes four other members (also former cricketers), including his elder brother Shane Lee. “Can’t Bowl, Can’t Throw” is one of their famous singles that reached #100 on ARIA singles chart.
AB de Villiers
Yes. The fastest ODI century maker features on this list, too. Collaborating with local singer-songwriter Ampie du Preez, de Villiers released “Maak Jou Drome Waar” (Make Your Dream Comes True), a bilingual pop album on August 2010. A music video was released for the title track on the album which featured de Villiers’ teammate Francois du Plessis.
Sanjay Manjrekar
This former middle-order batsman did not make a career in music. However, he did record a solo Indipop album titled “Rest Day”. The album begins with Manjrekar explaining how cricket and music are related. In the album, he sings not only his favourite songs, but also the beloved tracks of fellow cricketers including Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath and Anil Kumble.
Donald Bradman
The batting legend is usually known for his astounding average in Test cricket – 99.94. Very few people know that Sir Don Bradman was a master piano player. During the 1930 tour of England, he recorded songs with Columbia Record Studios. As his solo pieces, the album featured ‘Old Fashioned Locket’ and ‘Our Bungalow of Dreams’.
Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson
The band that Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose play in is called “The Big Bad Dread and the Bald Head”. Where the former plays the rhythm guitar, the former West Indian pace bowler takes on the bass guitar.
Mark Butcher
Mark Butcher is a former England middle-order batsman, who represented Surrey in county championships as well. Though not a professional musician, Butcher wrote and sung ‘You’re Never Gone’, dedicating it to Ben Hollioake, his Surrey teammate, who died in 2002 following a car accident.
Henry Olonga
Henry Olonga played international cricket for Zimbabwe. He was the first black player to play for the country when he made his debut in 1995. After retiring from the game, he does commentary as well as focuses on singing. He participated in channel Five’s reality show “The All Star Talent Show” and won it, thanks to his operatic voice.