But with news this week former England fast bowler for the first time in its Northern League Cup match against Bishop Auckland, it got us thinking about some of the many other top footballers who have proved fairly handy with bat and ball.
From Waugh twins Mark and Steve, who played state level football before representing Australia with distinction in cricket, to Ellyse Perry, one of the rare examples of a professional era athlete juggling Australia comittments in two sports concurrently, here are 10 of the best:
ELLYSE PERRY:
Many of the other names on this list achieved their feats of dual national team representation long before hte onset of the commercial, professional era. Perry is one of the few athletes to do it in any code in the modern era. But that has brought about its own challenges, with Perry often forced to choose between sports when the dates have conflicted. The naturally gifted athlete is the first person to play in both a football and cricket World Cup, but ex-Matildas coach Hesterine de Reus put the brakes on Perry's career in the green and gold in 2013, effectively shutting her out of Matildas calculations. De Reus has since been replaced, and Perry has stated her desire to again pay for the Matildas.
DENIS COMPTON:
Perhaps the ultimate cross-sport athlete, Compton played 78 Test matches for England and at the same time made 54 appearances for Arsenal between 1936 and 1950, winning League and FA Cup honours in the process.
SIR IAN BOTHAM:
All rounder Botham was offered the chance to recover from injury by signing for Scunthorpe United in 1980. Botham, who chose cricket over football as a junior, went on to make 11 appearances in the football league as a central defender.
SIR VIVIAN RICHARDS:
The West Indies great had a somewhat less distinguished football career, turning out occasionally for his native Antigua. Richards played in the 1974 World Cup qualifying campaign, which included an 11-0 defeat to Trinidad & Tobago.
BRIAN CLOSE:
The gritty Yorkshireman juggled prospective football and cricket careers in his teens, signing schoolboy forms for Leeds United and playing in a youth international for England against Scotland in 1948 before committing full-time to cricket in the same year.
ARNIE SIDEBOTTOM:
Sidebottom started his sporting career in football, making 16 appearances for Manchester United from 1972 to 1975 before moving on to Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town. He did not win his first Yorkshire county cap until 1980, and won a solitary Test call-up for England against Australia in 1985.
JOHN COMMAILLE:
Commaile represented South Africa in both sports during the early 1900s, acting as honorary secretary of the Football Association of South Africa when a triangular series between them, England and Australia was proposed and swiftly rejected, unfortunately.
KEN HOUGH:
Born in Sydney's west, Hough plied his trade as a goalkeeper and cricket all rounder, representing New Zealand in cricket, and both Australia and New Zealand in football, before eligibility rules tighened.
PHILIP NEVILLE:
Long before he graduated in the 'Class of '92', Manchester United star Phil Neville was a handy cricketer, captaining England at Under-15 level and represented Lancashire's 2nd XI as a teenager.
CB FRY:
Throughout the late 1800s, Fry played cricket for England in 26 Test matches and 394 1st Class games, before deciding he wanted to have a crack at the national football team. Realising he needed to play professionally, he joined Southampton and played for the Saints in the 1902 FA Cup final. In 1901 he was picked for England to play against Republic Of Ireland, achieving his aim of representing the Old Dart in both sports.
