SA associations join Cricket Australia push to make helmets mandatory
Batting in caps will soon be a thing of the past with SA associations getting behind a push to make helmets mandatory from this season. What do you think of the changes?
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Helmets will be mandatory for SA suburban cricketers when batting, wicketkeeping or fielding in close from this season as local associations throw their support behind a Cricket Australia push to improve players’ safety.
The move to enforce stricter regulations, which will apply to all junior and senior community cricketers, was flagged by Cricket Australia in 2016 to be introduced for the 2019/20 summer.
Under the new changes, players will be required to wear British Standard compliant helmets, which have a fixed gap between the shell and the face so a ball is unable to pass through.
They also have stronger welding so the bars of the face mask do not collapse or bend upon impact.
Helmets must be worn when batting, wicketkeeping within three metres of the stumps and fielding within seven metres of the batter.
Player safety, particularly in regard to helmets, became a significant talking point in the sport following the death of Phillip Hughes, after he was struck below the helmet during a Sheffield Shield match in 2014.
More recently, star Australian batsman Steve Smith was withdrawn from the second Ashes test in England with concussion from being hit by a Jofra Archer bouncer.
Cricket Australia and the SA Cricket Association cannot force local competitions to adopt the new policy.
But SA leagues, including the Para Districts Cricket Association, have got behind the move.
PDCA has purchased 110 new British Standard helmets to distribute to clubs for the upcoming season.
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President Andrew Quinlish said reducing the burden of equipment costs on clubs was a high priority.
“We knew it was coming in a so we put processes in place for this year to make it an easy transition,” said Quinlish.
“A lot of the juniors coming through always wear helmets and older players from 18 to 20 (years old) do as well.
“It’s mainly a few of the older ones that don’t always wear them but the feedback we’ve had is they’re still going to play cricket and put a helmet on.
“Safety is paramount to us – you’ve just got to do it.”
The PDCA, which was named SA’s cricket association of the year for 2018/19, will hand out penalties for players that do not comply with the new rules.
Cricket Australia clubs and competitions manager Scott Tutton said the governing body was “genuinley comitted to keeping players safe”.
“We want people to continue to play in all ways, shapes and forms but we just want to make sure they keep themselves safe while they do it.
“One fatal incident is one too many.
“If we can get people wearing a helmet the same way they do pads, gloves and a protector, I don’t think it’s too big an ask.”
SA Cricket Association community cricket field force manager Vanessa Walker said SA associations had been “generally positive” in getting on board.
“Some associations have provided excellent leadership in the helmet space, including PDCA.
“Once understanding that SACA cannot mandate on their behalf, clubs and associations, have been generally positive, noting it has been a well-established practice for juniors to wear helmets.”
patrick.keam@news.com.au