Having attending a meeting at Loughbrough University last week and had a few discussions via Twitter with a few different people it struck me that the cricket market is some way behind every other sports when it comes to helmets.
As consumers we readily accept that the price of a bat has risen and will pay in excess of £300+ (sometimes more) for a piece of willow. The argument that this is a natural material that has no guaranteed lifespan arose, you could have a bat that lasts you for numerous season or one that lasts a handful of games.
Yet when it comes to purchasing a product that revolves around your own personal safety people will be hard pushed to part with their cash. Now compare this with a product such as a helmet that has to pass BSI standards and rigorous testing prior to being allowed to be sold on the market. The materials used have to be specified and the manufacturer has to pay for testing, fill out technical files and adhere to stringent guidelines on what can be on the packaging, helmet and instructions.
The case for many people who choose not to wear a helmet is that they feel that they “don’t play a high enough standard” to get hit by a bouncer or “our pitches are slow and low” is often banded around. What people don’t consider more readily is the incident where a top edge comes towards your face before you have time to react, Often when sweeping the ball from a spinner as is the usual case. The majority of us have to go to work on a Monday after our weekends cricket and this could be rather difficult with a fractured eye socket, missing teeth or a broken nose.
Other Sports that use helmets for protection have much higher price points for their helmets pushing the £500+ region for anything that features Carbon Fibre shelled models in their range as is the case in Equestrian, Skiing and off-road cycling. Even those without the expensive outer shell materials are fetching £180-£200 as mid-ranged models.
http://www.uvex-sports.de/en/equestrian/equestrian-products/?pNavi=6&pModel=uvex+perfexxion+carbon
http://www.rxsport.co.uk/products/Sweet-Rooster-LE-Ski-Helmet-%252d-Natural-Carbon.htmlDuring a recent discussion someone raised a very valid point, go and visit your local dentist and ask them how much it costs to have dental surgery to replace some teeth. I’m positive its a lot more than the cost of going down to your nearest Cricket specialist and purchasing a helmet that could prevent these injuries.
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Topic: What Price do you put on your personal safety? (Read 1793 times)