Bolt: My dad made me pick running over cricket

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has revealed that he had the talent to play top level cricket, but his father convinced him to give up running between the wickets for a more lucrative track.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has revealed that he had the talent to play top level cricket, but his father convinced him to give up running between the wickets for a more lucrative track.

Bolt, the world record holder in 100m and 200m sprinting, was in Bangalore in India this week, to play a seven-a-side game against a team captained by India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh.

Bolt told <i>AFP</i> when asked why he didn't pick cricket as a career: "Blame it on my dad. My father is a huge cricket fan, but when I got to higher secondary, I had two options – cricket or athletics.

"My dad said because of the system in Jamaica, it would be better to take up athletics. He said, 'You just have to run fast in athletics while it's tougher to get into the national (cricket) team'."

Bolt is famously close friends with fellow Jamaican Chris Gayle, the West Indies opener, while fellow sprinter Yohan Blake has also been tempted to try his hand at cricket, recently saying he'd like to turn out for Yorkshire.

Latest