Baseball Batting Helmets History

Baseball Batting Helmets History

At its simplest, cricket is a game of bat and ball- willow and leather. However, what is inside a cricket kit is not limited to these. The modern cricket player has a lot of protective wear, apart from cricket clothing. Inside a cricketer’s bag, you will find bats, balls, pads, gloves, clothing and protective guards. Depending on the specialty of a player (batting/ bowling/ wicket keeping), the emphasis on equipment may be different.

Wicketkeepers

Wicketkeepers are fielding specialists. They use the normal protective equipment of batsmen but have specialist equipment- wicketkeeper gloves and pads. The wicketkeeper’s gloves are larger and less padded than batsmen’s gloves- designed specifically for catching. Inside of their gloves, wicketkeepers wear ‘inside gloves’ to reduce friction. The wicketkeeper’s pads are more slender than the batter’s pads so it would not hinder mobility.

All cricketers will have batting equipment as part of their kit. They may also have regulation cricket balls, regardless of whether they are specialist batsmen or bowlers. The basic cricket equipment includes:

a) A wooden bat (made with English willow). The bat has a cylindrical handle and a smooth face and is made to specification of the laws of the game.

b) Leg pads are necessary to protect the shin and knees from damage when batting and are mandatory batting equipment.

c) Batters’ gloves: The gloves that batters wear are more compact, padded and webbing-free when compared to wicketkeepers’ gloves.

d) Red or white balls made with a base of cork, a leather exterior and a seam.

e) Cricket clothing (white or coloured): These consist of a polo shirt (short/long sleeved) and long trousers.

f) Helmets, sun hats or cricket caps: Batters or close fielders do not need to wear helmets, but it is advisable. Batters or fielders can also choose to wear sun hats and cricket caps for protection against the sun.

g) Spiked shoes: Cricket involves running on grass and bare turf sometimes. Spiked shoes are necessary to increase traction. Spiked cricket shoes are not compulsory, however. Some cricketers use basic sneakers with adequate traction.

Protective equipment

Shin guards provide extra protection close fielders- who are near to the striker and risk injury without added protection. Batsmen usually wear thigh guards inside their trousers. Other guards that batters use include arm guards, chest guards and abdomen guards. Batsmen sometimes use abdomen guards to protect the ‘family jewels’.

During the winter- in countries like England and New Zealand, pullovers are often part of a cricketer’s kit- as a matter of course. Batting equipment alone accounts for the majority of a cricketer’s kit. It is easy to glean why cricket is a very expensive sport. Wind-ball cricket- cricket played with a tennis ball- requires much less equipment. Without the necessary equipment in hardball cricket, you risk injury or even death.

And now you can read brief profiles of some of the best spinners and fast bowlers that the game of cricket has ever seen:

The best spin bowlers in cricket history: http://www.helium.com/items/1516046-best-spin-bowlers-in-cricket
The top 5 fast bowlers in cricket history: http://www.helium.com/items/1518569-top-fast-bowlers-in-cricket-history

Dodger Game

It is very easy to get into the habit of pulling off the ball. This is especially true for power hitters. Have you ever seen a power hitter hit a home run and thereafter, he can’t couch the ball? What happened? The home run took him out of himself. So as he pivots, he is also pivoting his head. Read the rest of it here: Click Here