batting beginner

How to Protect Yourself While Batting

Safety gear keeps you safe while batting. Learn what to wear and how to stay protected.

1 min read 15 min practice
How to Protect Yourself While Batting
Table of Contents
  1. The essentials
  2. Fit matters
  3. Technique is protection too
  4. Check your kit
  5. What You Need
  6. Step-by-Step Instructions
  7. Important Tips
  8. Common Mistakes

A cricket ball is hard and can be bowled quickly. Protective equipment, worn properly, makes batting safe enough for anyone to play.

The essentials

  • Helmet — with a grille adjusted so the ball cannot pass between grille and peak.
  • Pads — covering the shin and knee, strapped firmly but not tight.
  • Gloves — protecting fingers and thumbs.
  • Abdominal guard — worn under the trousers.

Thigh guards, arm guards and chest guards are optional and worth using against genuine pace.

Fit matters

Equipment that does not fit does not protect. A loose helmet moves on impact; pads that are too long restrict running and slow you between wickets.

Technique is protection too

Watch the ball all the way. Most blows to the body come from losing sight of it. Learn to sway and duck under the short ball rather than turning your head away, which leaves the back of the helmet exposed.

Check your kit

Replace a helmet after a heavy impact and check straps and buckles regularly. Damaged equipment gives less protection than it appears to.

What You Need

  • A helmet
  • Pads
  • Gloves
  • A box guard

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1Always wear a helmet against fast bowling.
  2. 2Put on your pads before you bat.
  3. 3Wear gloves to protect your hands.
  4. 4Wear a box guard for extra safety.
  5. 5Check that all gear fits well.

Important Tips

  • Never bat against a hard ball without a helmet.
  • Watch the ball to avoid being hit.

Common Mistakes

  • Batting without proper gear.

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