Cricket as a sport is a very tough game. It requires high physical strength and mental strength if you are batsmen. Especially if you are a wicket keeping batsmen. The game has evolved over the years and so has its equipments. As a batsman you are expected to play 50 over’s in an ODI. The expectations rise if the game is a test match. The life of a wicket keeping batsmen is even harder than a batsman.
This is primarily because of the fact that he needs to bat out 50 overs if he is an opening batsman and keep wickets for the reminder of the game when his side takes on the bowling department. Wicket keeper role is a very significant role. He gets a better view of how the field is actually set up and thus he can find faults very easily. He also is the voice of the team while bowling. He needs to be constantly keep the players in the game and supporting even at hard times.
Today the amount games being played have increased to a large extent. Players play round the year and their expected to be at the heights of their fitness. Playing consistently without being injured throughout the year takes quite some effort and attitude. Of course players are prone for injuries due to fatigue. However injuries caused by the cricket ball can be avoided and for that they need proper protection.
When it comes to protection, the equipments used are gloves, pads, helmet, abdominal and elbow guards, chest and thigh guards. A batsman wears typically everything mentioned above. A wicket keeper wears pads and gloves mainly. He wears helmet when he stands up to the wicket. Without proper protection, injuries can be severe. We all know how Raman Lamba died while fielding at silly point without a helmet. He got hit on the head. Same happened with Indian wicket keeper Saba Kareem; he survived the injury but lost his eye contact to an extent.
A batsman primarily uses his bat and allows the ball come closer to execute any shot. Thus the focal point of his batting remains on his wrist and hands. Same holds true for a wicket keeper. He is typically expected to catch 300 deliveries in an ODI and more if it’s a test game. Both these players use their hands to execute their task and when you find bowlers bowling at a decent pace you have to be up to the task. International standards involve bowlers bowling around 140kmph. At that pace, the wicket keeper needs to collect the ball with a good technique along with proper protection. So does the batsman.
However when you are playing at that speed, you are prone for getting hit and if your equipment is not up to the standards, you’ll get seriously injured and you’ll end up going through unnecessary rehabilitation to make a comeback. In some cases it might be a career threatening injury. Thus the quality of the gloves and other equipments is highly necessary. And since the focal point happens to be the hand while batting and keeping, it should be protected nicely.
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