Print

[Stuey]

As i see it in all cases mentioned negligence seems to be with the player. A supplier can't rule out human error or stupidity
. if you chose leave a larger enough gap for the ball to get through, you have to accept the consequences. Without being privy to conversations between broad and Tom, I found it harsh that broad changed lid supplier after the incident when he appeared to be wearing the lid incorrectly to provide sufficient protection. In this world of health and safety, taking responsibility for your own actions seems to be non existent.

[Percy]

Is there an argument that all helmets  should not be able to set with "unsafe" grills  by the user (like the new Masuri I think), it might stop a lot of accidents and avoid unnecessary blame?

[The Palmist]

Is there an argument that all helmets  should not be able to set with "unsafe" grills  by the user (like the new Masuri I think), it might stop a lot of accidents and avoid unnecessary blame?

I don't remember Broad, Kieswetter or Mcculum blaming anyone !!

I personally am against Masuri fixing the grill setting [main reason I switched to old Masuri]. This decision is down to individuals, manufactures should offer advice but the final decision has to remain with individuals. 

[Percy]

I don't remember Broad, Kieswetter or Mcculum blaming anyone !!

I personally am against Masuri fixing the grill setting [main reason I switched to old Masuri]. This decision is down to individuals, manufactures should offer advice but the final decision has to remain with individuals.

I don't think they did, but there certainly seems to be an under-current of blame being aportioned here by some

[The Palmist]

I don't think they did, but there certainly seems to be an under-current of blame being aportioned here by some

I see where you are coming from but a lot of it has to do with interest in kit, nature to overanalyse and possible lack of other interesting topics. If everything was hunky dory, it wouldn't make a very interesting discussion, would it.

If you read all the posts, I would say there is a very good and healthy balance of positives and negatives for most brands mentioned.

[Stuey]

I don't remember Broad, Kieswetter or Mcculum blaming anyone !!

I personally am against Masuri fixing the grill setting [main reason I switched to old Masuri]. This decision is down to individuals, manufactures should offer advice but the final decision has to remain with individuals.

I think Broad clearly did because he changed supplier for the next test.

[Percy]

I don't think they did, but there certainly seems to be an undercurrent of blame being apportioned here by some

I agree with you that the setting should be up to the individual, but possibly it should be within in a tolerance that doesn't allow a ball through. In this increasingly litigious society how long is it before someone sues a helmet manufacturer after an accident and blames them for for selling a helmet that could be set "unsafely". Personally, I think people should take responsibility for their own actions, but alas we live in a world where its always someone elses fault!

[Cowcorner]

The test for Masuri will be when the new helmet takes a top edge to the peak and grill - if it doesn't stop the ball then they're done for - if it does, then it's like a free hit for them in what has now become a grudge match between them and Ayrtek/Adidas!
Where are Albion in all this? On holiday? Gone bust?
What really staggers me though is that we can put a man on the moon, build stuff with nano technology and drop precision guided munitions from 20,000 ft but for some mystical reason nobody can make a cricket ball travel over 75mph in a lab. Just get one made with a magnet in the centre and use electromagnets to accelerate it. It'll go like a startled badger out of the blocks and be pin point accurate. Or just write to Mythbusters and ask them to sort it out - it's a shame tomorrow's world is no longer on TV as they could've had a crack too...

[tim2000s]

What really staggers me though is that we can put a man on the moon, build stuff with nano technology and drop precision guided munitions from 20,000 ft but for some mystical reason nobody can make a cricket ball travel over 75mph in a lab. Just get one made with a magnet in the centre and use electromagnets to accelerate it. It'll go like a startled badger out of the blocks and be pin point accurate. Or just write to Mythbusters and ask them to sort it out - it's a shame tomorrow's world is no longer on TV as they could've had a crack too...

I think the other point is the economics of doing this. Using readily available components, the 75mph test was relatively simple to perform and could be set up at a number of test centres relatively simply, without costing a lot of money.

As soon as you have to build properly specialist kit, the cost of the test so far outweighs the margins to be made that it becomes an exercise that no-one will undertake, as so many people don't really care.

[Cowcorner]

I think the other point is the economics of doing this. Using readily available components, the 75mph test was relatively simple to perform and could be set up at a number of test centres relatively simply, without costing a lot of money.

As soon as you have to build properly specialist kit, the cost of the test so far outweighs the margins to be made that it becomes an exercise that no-one will undertake, as so many people don't really care.

27 pages of thread makes me think that people do care.

[tim2000s]

27 pages of thread makes me think that people do care.

16 if you are viewing from a different device! But the point is that people on the forum are interested, but won't necessarily pay any more for a helmet that was tested to a higher standard than they will ever use.

And the forum is a tiny percentage of the sales of a product. Just talk to the likes of Masuri, etc. Is it worth increasing the cost if 99% of people are not bothered enough?

[uknsaunders]

I think most other helmet manufacturers have wisely decided to avoid commenting on specific injuries using competitors helmets. You never know when your lid is next? Masuri are asking for a fall by trying to make capital out of it and in the long run they could come horribly unstuck.

[Cowcorner]

16 if you are viewing from a different device! But the point is that people on the forum are interested, but won't necessarily pay any more for a helmet that was tested to a higher standard than they will ever use.

And the forum is a tiny percentage of the sales of a product. Just talk to the likes of Masuri, etc. Is it worth increasing the cost if 99% of people are not bothered enough?

That's fair enough but I think you're underestimating the forum. I've put people off products and likewise put people onto products based on reviews that people have done on here. At the end of the day cricketers talk kit a lot of the time - it's like watching those green aliens in toy story everytime a new bat comes out in a club changing room (ooooooooh! Shiny!). The forum has gone international with our eastern, antipodean and U.S. friends. I'm not saying we've got major impact but I think we count for more than 1%.

[The Palmist]

The cost of testing will only be a small fraction compared to the amount spent on marketing and testing facilities will be shared by all brands. I don't think cost plays any role here. Cricket boards should be able to contribute as well if the need be.

[tim2000s]

That's fair enough but I think you're underestimating the forum. I've put people off products and likewise put people onto products based on reviews that people have done on here. At the end of the day cricketers talk kit a lot of the time - it's like watching those green aliens in toy story everytime a new bat comes out in a club changing room (ooooooooh! Shiny!). The forum has gone international with our eastern, antipodean and U.S. friends. I'm not saying we've got major impact but I think we count for more than 1%.

We've looked at the participation rates in the UK. We have 3,500 members and typically have 14,000 "users" according to Google Analytics. The ECB in 2013 registered 908,000 adult participants in recreational cricket. To achieve one percent of that we would have to touch 9,000 people in the UK alone, so while we may touch the equivalent of 2% of the cricket playing population in the UK, we are nowhere near 1% worldwide (given the numbers in India, which is where the sales growth and cost dynamics will play the biggest part). This ECB study also doesn't include under-18s, which all have to wear a helmet.

And on the topic of helmets, at the level of recreational league cricket I play, only the first team all wear a helmet to bat. Every other team has a roughly 40:60 split. Given there are four teams in the club and 2.4 of them are not wearing helmets - and probably don't even own one - it does beg the question of the market size in the UK. If we apply that ratio to the UK participation rate, 60% of the adult players are wearing a helmet, and that is a market of 545,000 people. You can guarantee they don't all own one or want to replace the existing Masuri/Albion that has served them well.