Wearing helmet

[leftnright]

Wearing helmet

Hi All,

I am right handed batsman, with decent defensive technique and can play very well on the square and behind the wicket. Generally I go lower in the order 7th or 8th down to rotate strike to the main batsmen.

I never wore helmet during my batting. Generally for a short ball/bouncer when I notice it I sway away or take evasive action. Never got a awkward bounce that reached by head - till the chest level I have taken care of (I am about 5' 11" tall).
Recently I have seen a mate getting hit on the head from a ball rising from unexpected length. 10 stitches on forehead.

I am scared, started wearing helmet, but can balance head and more so I cant judge the ball outside the off stump which I used pick the length so easily with out the helment and dispatch it where I want to on the ground.

Any excercises or practice drill you can suggest that will get my sight right with a helmet (and a grill) on?

Thanks in anticipation

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Wearing helmet

Just wear the helmet as much as you can to be honest. Wear it watching TV, wear it during practice and so on.

There are no specific drills per se, it is really a case of just wearing it.

 

[leftnright]

Re: Wearing helmet

Yesterday I put a cricket ball in a sock - tied it at a height and started hitting it.. wearing helmet... doesnt seem as difficult. Will continue practicing like that.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: Wearing helmet

Yesterday I put a cricket ball in a sock - tied it at a height and started hitting it.. wearing helmet... doesnt seem as difficult. Will continue practicing like that.

Not a bad way of doing things - as I said wearing the helmet is the key thing.

 

[SteveyD]

Re: Wearing helmet

Just wear the helmet as much as you can to be honest. Wear it watching TV, wear it during practice and so on.

There are no specific drills per se, it is really a case of just wearing it.

Agree!
Its like glasses or contact lenses. Keep wearing them and your body will adapt to the field of vision you have

 

[Stumped]

Re: Wearing helmet

I never wear a lid for batting, but i always do for keeping! strange really!

but the first game i kept with one i watched the oppo's skipper knock 3 of his own teeth out with a leading edge!

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

I never wear a lid for batting, but i always do for keeping! strange really!

Well I guess when you are batting it's just you versus the bowler, if you get hit in the head it is mostly your fault.

When you are keeping it is you versus the bowler versus the batsman versus the stumps versus the ground. Edges are more likely to fly into your face (especially standing up) and balls to bounce unpredictably.

So your usage of a helmet has some logic!

 

[Stumped]

Re: Wearing helmet

Lol my worst enemy is the Bails! they always seem to get through the grill when standing up to the quick bowlers!

 

[ZacDuggan]

Re: Wearing helmet

Interestingly enough, I wore a helmet for quite a while, but when i made the decision to stop using one, my batting much improved, as my vision got a lot better and i could see more gaps in the field. I'm about 6'3, so balls up around my head arent that common, but when they do, i just get down or try and hit them

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

Interestingly enough, I wore a helmet for quite a while, but when i made the decision to stop using one, my batting much improved, as my vision got a lot better and i could see more gaps in the field. I'm about 6'3, so balls up around my head arent that common, but when they do, i just get down or try and hit them

It's not the short ball I'm worried about, but the top edge.

Also to ask a random question, has anybody been hit on the top of the neck, base of the skull area at the back of the head while wearing a helmet?

I've always thought that the helmet doesn't give enough protection around that area after I got hit there once. The natural reaction is to duck and turn the head away, and it opens up that area to being hit. I've seen it plenty of times and thought that the helmet wasn't really suitable for covering this eventuality.

 

[Stumped]

Re: Wearing helmet

well you should'nt be getting hit in the back of the head, if that happens your not watching the ball at all!

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

well you should'nt be getting hit in the back of the head, if that happens your not watching the ball at all!

When you duck you can't watch the ball. Also the natural tendency is to duck and push your face towards the ground to get out of the road of the ball, otherwise it would always hit you straight in the grill (this is when a fast ball surprises you coming at your head - especially in club cricket when not too many can get that sort of bounce). You have to twist your head to get out of the road of those nasty bouncers, and when you do it opens up the whole area just underneath the helmet.

Baseball helmets don't have this problem because they come down a bit further and flare out, none of the skull is open (except their helmets don't have grills). I have always wondered why they pretty much just put a grill on a baseball helmet, it would be a lot safer.

I've been hit there before and I've seen it happen to a couple of others and numerous times watching international matches on TV.

 

[Stumped]

Re: Wearing helmet

well maybe its because i'm a wicket keeper, but even from my batting coach i'm taught to get my head inline with the pitch of the ball and play it under my head! So even if the ball gets tall on you, you should still be watching it..... and thus not turning your head away from the ball!

and you cant avoid something you cant see / watch!

 

[Jim2109]

Re: Wearing helmet

It's not the short ball I'm worried about, but the top edge.

Also to ask a random question, has anybody been hit on the top of the neck, base of the skull area at the back of the head while wearing a helmet?

I've always thought that the helmet doesn't give enough protection around that area after I got hit there once. The natural reaction is to duck and turn the head away, and it opens up that area to being hit. I've seen it plenty of times and thought that the helmet wasn't really suitable for covering this eventuality.

whether its coming at your head or not, you should still have your eye on the ball ideally. the natural reflex is to throw your hands up and turn your head away, but as you have discovered, there isnt protection there! the protection is at the front, and on top (and some on the side). if you keep your eyes on the ball then chances are you can get out of the way. if not then turn your head downwards and take the ball on the top, and if you duck well it should only glance you anyway.

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

This is all good in theory, and I know all the theory on it, but when it happens that's the last thing that crosses your mind. It's not really something you can train... you'd have to get a fast bowler to try and knock you out.

Where I play there are quite a few fast bowlers, and there's quite a few that can also get it up whizzing past your head. If I know I'm coming up against them I don the helmet, if not then I forego it in favour of extra vision.

But when you have a fast ball rising up on you when you've faced only one or two balls it's hard to 'get your body inline and head over the ball'. You've just got to get out of the road as soon as possible and try to forgo an injury. I have never raised my hands up, I've always kept them as far away from the ball as possible - therefore I don't get out to it, but getting hit isn't a favourable option either.

When the ball is a metre away from your head and you still haven't reacted (for someone with a fast reaction time it's still very easy to get yourself in that situation) you've got to move your head. If I'm going to take a hit, I'd prefer to take the hit on the side/top of the head where I know there is the padding to stop the ball fitting between grill and helmet or the grill from cutting my face.

And even if the technique is wrong I've seen plenty of Test cricketers get hit just behind the ear on the very base of the skull, it's not a one in a million chance.

The baseball helmet has plastic that goes all the way down around that area to cover there specifically. The cricket helmet stops a good 3-5 cm above it. The baseball helmet also doesn't restrict movement as a cricket helmet does and is surprisingly more safe (apart from no grill, which can't be helped because with it seeing the ball would be impossible) than a cricket helmet... and you could go a whole season without seeing even a pitch fly at a batter's head, let alone hit it. Yet in cricket bouncers are a commonplace nowadays and even if you choose to wear the protective gear it doesn't seem adequate.

 

[SteveyD]

Re: Wearing helmet

This is all good in theory, and I know all the theory on it, but when it happens that's the last thing that crosses your mind. It's not really something you can train... you'd have to get a fast bowler to try and knock you out.

I'll have a go

Nah, Just got to be confident that you have the helmet on, if it hits it wont hurt.

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

Just got to be confident that you have the helmet on, if it hits it wont hurt.

That's the part I'm not sure on, though.

If it hits, it does hurt. And it doesn't cover enough space over your head. If it hits the grill, if flexes right back and smashes into your face. The cricket helmet is basically a padded plastic skull cap with a grill.

I've always had expensive helmets and ones that I've made sure have fit. Just try it now, push the grill in different points and see if it can hit your head. If it can't, then hit it and see if it comes close. It almost always will reach your face, which means if the ball hits it there you run the risk of getting a grill smashed into it. If a baseball design was used with the grill attached on the front all the risks associated with being hit in the head are much reduced. It also means you don't have to 'follow a technique' of getting hit in the head to ensure you don't get hurt.

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

Just to give a visual representation of the two standard helmets:

And then in baseball you can go all out and get something like this:

Just think of either of those helmets with a grill. How much more confident would you be?

 

[SteveyD]

Re: Wearing helmet

I can see your point.
But on the other hand , if its a bouncer, you get out of the way.
If its a top edge, its more likely to hit going upwards and maybe hit the brow. Also top edges tend to be slower than a bowl.
will post more in a minute, just getting kit together for today

 

[Boris]

Re: Wearing helmet

Just to further my case:

Not all of these are hit on the head, but the ones that are pay attention to where they hit. There is a couple hitting behind the ear, ones pushing the grill back onto the face and cutting, and some getting hit right on the back of the head. No matter what grade you play in you are going to be playing against bowlers that trouble you, so it is always possible.
YouTube - Cricket can be hazardous to your health

This can happen at much slower speeds, especially with cheapo helmets you can buy from any store - let alone Test match quality ones - and shows that even one that hits full on can still cause problems.
YouTube - Daniel Flynn Loses Tooth

This one you aren't going to see at club level because of the speeds... but it just hurts.
YouTube - Shoaib Akthar bouncer Kirsten bleeding oww

If you have a strap up baseball style helmet with grill it cannot 'give' with the ball, and the padding some of those helmets have (telling you from experience) can sometimes drown out almost all sound. The plastic is also thicker and it is molded onto your head, not just sits on like a cap with a strap. If you wiggle your head from side to side it doesn't wiggle with it and you've got cover down past your ears and over the back of your skull.