Let me preface this by saying a better batsman than me would might never need the toe protection I have long been looking for… they would of course never get hit on the toe, rather they might score 4s off the Yorkers that cause me to grimace… but grimace no more, thanks to Wayne at Hurler Athletic and a nifty Sports Direct purchase.
Last year I broke my toe and, thereafter, ironically, it stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb, there was nothing that couldn't hit my toe from children, to opening doors, trolleys, car pedals and of course Yorkers. Just when I thought I had recovered it got struck playing cricket again whilst sweeping.
After that my footwork became increasingly clubbed, in anticipation of further pain, that is to say I turned the foot inwards so that it was no longer pointing in the direction of the stroke for all except cut shots. I bought some composite toe trainers which worked well for the nets but were too slippy for running between the wickets, and probably still a bit heavy for match day.
I investigated lots of solutions - including researching older posts on here and trying some customisation myself (e.g. using 3M Scotchcast - a light but very hard material used as an alternative to plaster of paris for splinting broken bones) but none of them were quite right. In the end I chose to go with Wayne at Hurler Athletic. Please see my notes on the rest at the end.
The company seems to do a couple of products. The first called Pitching Toes is similar to the TuffToe (see below) as far as I can tell, and the other is called 'ProtecToe Injury Protection' for American Footballers with injured toes who don't want another toe crush injury from being stamped on. THIS IS WHAT I GOT.
They have fibre-reinforced toe cap with a sort of liquid gel coating which dries rock hard. They look like the Tuff Toe from the internet pictures but these are reinforced whereas the TuffToe coat isn't. Combined with some light Slazenger Aero D3s, this has provided the most comfortable, most professional looking, lightest and suitable solution. Wayne was straightforward to deal with, and very helpful when it came to postage. He said it was the first cricket shoe he had done, and certainly the first time he had shipped to Australia, but you couldn't tell - the pictures I think speak for themselves, and would not in my opinion draw major attention to the bowler's eye. From SportsDirect to me to Wayne to me again, I have paid £60 all in for a brand new modified shoe.
I'll update through the next few weeks and months….
Notes:
TuffToe -
http://www.tufftoesports.com - essentially a polymer that dries hard but is meant to prevent the leather wearing rather than actually provide rigidity; they have 2 products - one is a self application of the liquid glue substance, the other is a pre-shaped plastic plate - both are designed for baseball pitchers who drag their toes. So they are really a scuff guard for your footwear.
ProtecTozz - protectozz.com - after to speaking to an old pro he told of the days when they used to have metal plates which had a couple of holes for laces, and then extended forward wrapping around the toe until screwing into the holes for the spikes (a bit like what the toe clips on racers/ push-bikes - well, protectozz (bad name) seem be close to that - except they look large, crude and not at all cricket-like. They would be asking for trouble.
Spoke to forum sponsors - got some advice and ideas but nothing concrete; considered buying a composite toecap and modding it but couldn't find anywhere to buy a single unit; they were available in 1000's from China but not singles - but if they were like my builders trainers they still would be heavy.
Custom Cricket Shoes/ My FootDr - TuffToe application +/- extra layer of leather -http://www.customcricketshoes.com/modifications.php - same issues as TuffToe above I feel
Tried sourcing older fashioned cricket shoes e.g. CRK cricket shoes - all leather with double leather reinforced toe - they were stiff and heavy though may have broken in - and as rare as hens' teeth.
Finally I came across The Hurler Athletic Company and Wayne.
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Topic: Hurler Athletic ProtecToe Injury Protection (Read 3481 times)