• The first stage of the forum upgrades has now been completed but they remain in a degraded state with some features missing, normal posting/reading should now be possible.
    Please read this thread for more details.
    New user registrations are currently disabled.
    Some other features of the forum are also currently disabled.

Do you bat in a helmet?


Played cricket in two spells - aged 11 to around 21 and then 40-47 - and never wore one. Was an opening bat, and faced some very sharp bowling in my youth, but just village cricket in my latter years.
Never been hit but came close - ironically, in village cricket - a couple of times (the ghostly whisper of leather shushing my temple).
Think I would wear one now if I started playing again (now 52). What reflexes I had are gone.
 
Looking back now it's mental we were allowed at 14yo to face fast bowlers without it being compulsory to wear one. Can remember playing senior league second team cricket at that age and some of the bowlers were rapid as fuck. Can remember an opening pairing of Jones and Wake from Gateshead fell being particularly rapid iirc
 
redandwhiterob said:
Looking back now it's mental we were allowed at 14yo to face fast bowlers without it being compulsory to wear one. Can remember playing senior league second team cricket at that age and some of the bowlers were rapid as fuck. Can remember an opening pairing of Jones and Wake from Gateshead fell being particularly rapid iirc
Click to expand...
Yep Barmy. Wonder if Fred would still have this opinion today.

You must be logged on to see media items
 
Wore a helmet for most of my time playing cricket whether wicket keeping or batting and that was before it was common place, learnt my lesson standing up and fracturing my eye socket off an edge.

Got a few strange looks when keeping at first but that was less bother than the injury so wasn’t arsed 🤣🤣

Funnily enough was just watching this today as well…..brutal

You must be logged on to see media items
 
one footed wonder said:
Wore a helmet for most of my time playing cricket whether wicket keeping or batting and that was before it was common place, learnt my lesson standing up and fracturing my eye socket off an edge.

Got a few strange looks when keeping at first but that was less bother than the injury so wasn’t arsed 🤣🤣

Funnily enough was just watching this today as well…..brutal

You must be logged on to see media items
Click to expand...
Close was mental. One of the first cricket books I read was his I Don't Bruise Easily.
 
redandwhiterob said:
Looking back now it's mental we were allowed at 14yo to face fast bowlers without it being compulsory to wear one. Can remember playing senior league second team cricket at that age and some of the bowlers were rapid as fuck. Can remember an opening pairing of Jones and Wake from Gateshead fell being particularly rapid iirc
Click to expand...

One of those was a top Sunderland fan who passed just before the SOL opened. RIP Phil.
 
Sillypoint said:
No i seem to remember hearing that too, i think i just missed compulsory batting helmets in Junior Cricket though, 1999ish?? although only ever got hit in the face keeping wicket, had one bobble in front of my hands and pop up, then i skier a took just under my chin that bounced out my hands into my front tooth

unsure when the rules came in for keepers to wear them in Junior cricket though
Click to expand...

I thought the rule was at the same time regarding batsmen and keepers standing up in junior cricket. The year you mention sounds about right though.

Regarding batting, I’ve never really felt at risk of being hit by short pitched bowling, but it isn’t worth not wearing one because I’m always likely to mis-time a pull and top edge it into my face :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top