You know how cricket is one of the most loved sports around the entire world, right? There are a lot of people who are obsessed with this game. On weekends, you’ll find families packed in stadiums cheering their hearts out. It seems impossible to believe now, but cricket wasn’t always this popular. Like everything, it kept evolving too. A few special people helped take the game to the next level and spread the passion globally.
In cricket, some mighty big names are often called the “Godfathers”. But which one did the most to make cricket? Well as per Cricket Recorder analysis, William Gilbert Grace is known as the godfather of cricket today. He started playing for the First-Class cricket side in 1865. WG Grace holds the record for First-Class cricket with 54,211 runs that only match with the total of any super player.
Further in this article, Cricket Recorder will introduce you to pioneers like Kerry Packer and Don Bradman. We’ll check what they did to revolutionize cricket and maybe find out who deserves the proper title of Godfather. As time passed, different cricketers were given the title of “Godfather”.
In this article, we will get to know all these individuals! Sounds like an interesting read? Let’s jump in then and uncover cricket’s true leader together!
William Grace
WG Grace was a famous cricket player from a long time ago. He was born in 1848 and played cricket for a long time until he was super old. WG Grace liked cricket a lot and was very good at it. The first era was when William Grace, brother of WG, played cricket in England between 1865 and 1908. He made an unbelievable amount of runs, over 54,000 were scored by him! William made England cricket well-liked. He was one of the greats out of England and will go down as an all-time figure in the game.
He played cricket for a long time and was still good even when he was almost 50 years old. WG Grace also worked as a doctor but he liked cricket more so he played it more. Some people said WG Grace wasn’t always nice when he played though. He tried hard to win and didn’t always follow all the rules. But most people still thought he was the best cricket player ever because he could score a lot of runs and get guys out. WG Grace made cricket a big deal in England a long long time ago.
Kerry Packer was a Cricket Superhero
Kerry Packer was an awesome cricket guy from Australia. He played a great role in cricket in the 1970s. Kerry owned a big TV station. He saw that cricket was boring and not making enough money.
Kerry came up with a brilliant idea. He started his cricket league called World Series Cricket. It was so cool! Players got to wear colorful uniforms instead of boring whites. They played cricket at night under lights, which no one had ever seen before. Packer also paid the players way more money. This made cricket way more exciting and attracted lots of new fans.
Kerry helped save cricket during a tough time. He made it more fun to watch on TV. Now everyone could enjoy cricket even if they couldn’t go to the games. Kerry helped make cricket super popular all over the world. Because of everything Kerry did for cricket, many people think he deserves to be called the Godfather.
Don Bradman scored like a superhero
Don Bradman from Australia was the best batsman ever. In his whole career, his average score was 99.9 runs, whenever he batted. No one has ever come close to scoring as well as Don. He was like a real-life cricket superhero for Australians. Don helped his country win so many matches. Even after all these years, no one has broken his amazing records. Because of his unbelievable success, Don Bradman changed cricket forever.
Sunil Gavaskar was a batting champ
Sunil Gavaskar played for India. He was amazing at taking on fast bowlers from the West Indies, who had scary quick balls. Sunil scored runs well against them. No one could get him out easily. He is the first man, who scored 10,000 runs in test cricket. A small city boy named Sunil made India proud. The one who called him the Godfather of Indian cricket was being said by none other than the majestic Viv Richards. Sunil carried India’s batting on his shoulders for nearly a decade and won as many matches as the Godfather.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
MS Dhoni remained as captain of the India cricket team admirably from 2007 to 2016. He also had the captainship of India to victory in two major international world tournaments the World Cup and the Champions Trophy. After great players like Sachin and Dravid retired, Dhoni stepped up as a strong leader. Even now, he continues to support and inspire new Indian players. For taking Indian cricket to the top level, Dhoni is thought of as cricket’s modern-day God of cricket.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that throughout the years there have been many incredible cricketers who have given wonders to this beautiful game.Kerry Packer was a cricket revolutionary of sorts and brought on radical changes, which made the game more interesting and money-loaded than ever before. A relic of days gone,
Don Bradman’s extraordinary going through the off-field resistance made benchmarks most likely never be reached. Sunil Gavaskar dominated at the highest level and helped India shine bright. MS Dhoni then led India to multiple world title victories as an amazing and calm captain. Because of the giant impacts these men had through their outstanding abilities and contributions, they can certainly all be considered for the title of the Godfather of Cricket. But among them, Kerry Packer’s revolutionary work through World Series Cricket marked a turning point in cricket’s popularity and commercialization globally. Therefore, he will likely be remembered as the original and ultimate Godfather!
FAQs
So Who First Used “Godfather”?
The man who first called someone this term was none other than the legendary Viv Richards from the West Indies. Viv was a cricketing icon back in the day and he got to see India’s Sunil Gavaskar dominate opponents again and again. Viv appreciated Sunil’s work and gave him the special nickname “Godfather of Indian Cricket”.After that, this term started getting used a lot more about cricket. Whenever someone left a massive mark on the game through major contributions, they too would be up for consideration as a Godfather. A lot of big names over the years have worn that title proudly.
Which player has the strongest claim to be the Godfather?
While there are good arguments for several candidates, Kerry Packer’s vision and founding of World Series Cricket in the 1970s truly transformed cricket into a popular global sport. He reformed the business side and made the game financially viable, paving the way for cricket’s future prosperity.
Why isn’t Sachin Tendulkar considered the Godfather?
Though Sachin is revered as the greatest batsman and known as the “God of Cricket”, his role was mainly as a player who entertained fans with his skills. The Godfather title recognizes those who revolutionized cricket beyond just playing, like what Packer and others did through off-field contributions and reforms.
What is MS Dhoni’s case for the title?
Dhoni led India’s rise as the dominant ODI team around 2011 by winning major tournaments like the World Cup. He also fully transitioned captaincy duties to Kohli. But Packer and others made even larger structural changes to the way cricket is organized and viewed globally.
