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[tim2000s]

Dave,  I don't think this is the first time we've seen the Ayrtek tested.  Didn't someone take a full frontal in the grill?

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[procricket]

Dave,  I don't think this is the first time we've seen the Ayrtek tested.  Didn't someone take a full frontal in the grill?

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Tim i understand what your saying mate but to say about other helmets not doing there job when the ratio to Ayrtek is fuzzled at best.

What i have said and always will is has it been tested at different angles which i guess it hasn't.

I have seen the Old Masuri and Albion and Hunts County take full frontal hit before and do there job too.

[Johnny]

I always thought Ayrtek helmets were designed so that you CAN'T adjust the grill to a setting that allows the ball through. So is this a custom set up for Broad? Or has something broken? Or has the ball gotten out of shape?

Who knows... Itching to find out from Tom. I'm sure this will be a great opportunity for him to improve the product further

[Spanky]

Not the best advertisement for the Aditek helmets, many will have been waiting for this to happen so they can criticise the product and question its safety.

Something else that crossed my mind is we have no idea how the pros treat their helmets. The could be dropping and chucking them about in the changing rooms (sure we all know someone at our club that does it) possibly leading to weakness that cant be easily spotted.

Just something I was thinking about.

[uknsaunders]

I think we have to wait for the official word from tom first. It could be broady had his settings too wide or the helmet had a weakness. Could be the rebounded off the peak and through. Nobody really knows how it got there when it shouldn't be possible.

Get feel says that if it can get through a fixed peak then no other helmet would of done a better job. More likely a worse job and unlike keiswetter, broad is available for the next match.

[Jaffa]

Don't know about waiting, more like fearing this was going to happen.
As mentioned earlier it is probably the safest. I wear an ayrtek, one of the earlier ones with a Wobbly grill so accept something can always happen. Same as I wear p1 strippers and I once got hit on the inside of my thigh where there was no protection.

I have always wondered though why the grill has to be so far away from your face. Surely if it closer it would use less material so it could be thicker and give better visability

[uknsaunders]

I think the problem is the impact will force the helmet backwards and into your face if its to close.

[joeljonno]

http://m.sportskeeda.com/cricket/stuart-broad-helmet-design-injury-england-india-test

Spotted this earlier. Doesn't really give an answer, more a review of the incident and comparison with a Brett Lee delivery

[trypewriter]

One thing that has crossed my mind is those metal puzzles that you used to see around at Christmas time (people of a certain age). Against all logic you could, by using angles, twists, different forces etc. pull them apart and then put them back together again. Getting a cricket ball through the gap is a similar conundrum.

[tim2000s]

I have always wondered though why the grill has to be so far away from your face. Surely if it closer it would use less material so it could be thicker and give better visability

Nick's point is partially correct.  The other point being that you don't want a deformed grill hitting you in the face,  which is what could happen if you were to have it closer.

The design of the Ayrtek is supposed to reduce lid movement when worn correctly by use of the four point fixing.

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[jwebber86]

I always thought Ayrtek helmets were designed so that you CAN'T adjust the grill to a setting that allows the ball through. So is this a custom set up for Broad? Or has something broken? Or has the ball gotten out of shape?

there a various setting on the grill so that the gap can be different for adults and junior size balls. it can also be wider the these setting which i couldnt understand the reason for. in the little booklet i got witht he ayrtek it shows the suggested setup which was used for the safety testing.

im not sure if it any different now that its an aditek helmet

[El Nino]

Interested to hear Tom's thoughts on this matter.

Imagine it may have been a busy day!

[Jimmyg]

I was at OT yesterday and after the incident with Stuart Broad's injury, I had a look at the grille positions on my carbon fibre RAW helmet and my fibreglass old style Ayrtek helmets when I got home. Setting the grille in the same holes as Broad, it gave a gap of 50mm at the front and 55mm on the sides, which complies with the recommended maximum gaps as advised. Even allowing for the ball hitting from the side where there is less depth of peak to prevent deformation, a ball isn't going to get through.
However looking at Broad's helmet which appears to be a plastic Premiertek helmet the  mounting points of the grille appear to be lower in relation to the bottom edge of the helmet. The bottom of the grille mounting plate is 9-10 mm above the bottom of the peak on the RAW, whereas on the Premiertek the bottom of the grille mounting plate is virtually level with the bottom of the helmet, which would mean Broad's grille had been adjusted to give approximately a 65mm gap, which is too large to prevent a ball entering in all circumstances.
If I was facing 85-90 mph deliveries I would definitely make sure I was wearing a carbon fibre version rather the bottom of the range helmet and I would make sure the gap in the grille wasn't too big as well, but maybe that's a reflection on my lack of confidence in my hooking abilities?

[kasabian21]

let's think about this more...

with an old style Masuri, it is reasonable to say he would have a fractured eye socket and his career may be over.

with a double bar vision series lid, the ball would have caused the visor to pop off, but who knows where the ball may have gone, with nothing to take the pace off, it may have had a similar result to the old model.

with a plastic Albion the visor/peak would have been destroyed again with a who knows what result.

with a traditional Albion the grille would probably have crushed into his face, like Ponting at lords, but much worse, maybe fractured cheek.

it is too easy to get the hatchet out here.

broad only has a broken nose from a ball which would have been going faster than 100 mph, the adrenaline would have been pumping after the last two balls had gone for 6 massively.

ironically if Steyn or Johnson were bowling I suspect broad would have missed it and we would have watched the ball deflect off the lid for 4 byes...

Er, WHAT? Are you serious?! The speed of the delivery was 86mph, which is measured just as the ball leaves the hand. The ball loses 10-15mph by the time it reaches the batsman and would have slowed down further after hitting the bat. At most it hit the helmet at 75mph. Where on earth do you get 100mph from? It is basic physics that the ball will only ever lose speed, not pick up speed once it has left the bowler's hand.

[Bruce]

FWIW, all the testing videos I have seen are done with the Bola ball.
I saw earlier in the series England were asking if the ball had for out of shape.
After all they are handmade from natural resources. The ball can shrink, where as a Bola ball will hold it's shape better in the long term.
By no means a dig, just saying.
Was only saying just yesterday with my new job being local to Ayrtek HQ I am making plans to upgrade from my Premier.