A cricket ball weighs 156g and arrives at up to 140km/h. Head protection is not optional equipment, and at school and club level a helmet is mandatory for junior batters in most South African leagues.
This helmet uses a high-impact outer shell with an internal padded harness and an adjustable steel grille. Sizes S, M and L.
Sizing
Measure the circumference of the head, level, about 2cm above the eyebrows and around the widest point at the back.
- Small — approx. 52–56cm. Junior players.
- Medium — approx. 56–59cm. Older juniors and most adults.
- Large — approx. 59–62cm.
The helmet must not move when you shake your head, and it must not rock forwards and backwards. Unlike a bat or pads, this is not a piece of kit to buy oversized for a child to grow into — a loose helmet moves on impact and can leave the grille gap in the wrong place at exactly the wrong moment.
Setting the grille gap
The gap between the peak and the top of the grille is the most important adjustment on the helmet, and the one people most often get wrong.
Set it so the gap is smaller than a cricket ball — the ball must not be able to pass through, at any grille position. Check this with an actual ball rather than by eye. Then check the batter's sightline in their normal stance: they should be looking through the gap between the peak and the grille bar, not through the grille itself.
When to replace a helmet
Replace any helmet that has taken a direct ball impact to the shell or grille, even if it looks undamaged. The protective structure works by deforming to absorb energy, and once it has done that it will not do it as well a second time.
Also replace it if the shell is cracked, the harness padding has compressed flat, or the grille is bent. Check the fit on growing juniors every season. Store it out of direct sun and heat, which degrade the shell material over time. Complete the batting kit with leg guards and a bat.
