What Do Cricketers Wear?
15 Things Cricketers Wear When They Play Cricket
Next to soccer, cricket is a sport played globally. Right from the jersey and caps to wearing protective gear, helmets, and shoes. Everything has a particular pattern, design, colour, and fabric that the players need to maintain.
Cricket ball is made up of leather weighted around 159–163 grams which can hurt the human body and cause severe damage, especially when it swings towards the batsmen at 80–100 mph. Therefore every cricket player must wear protective gear while playing. The protective gear helps the player to perform well and prevents them from getting a severe injury.
Let’s look at the 15 things that cricketers wear on the field:
1. Jersey
Cricket clothing is different from any other sport. Different gameplay has a different set of clothes. During the Test matches, the cricket jersey combination is white. The primary reason for wearing whites is that the players are on the ground under the sun for maximum hours; therefore, the white clothing helps them stay cool throughout the gameplay. The white cricket uniform is often known as flannel.
In the other matches where the players represent their countries — ODIs and World Cup or the teams during IPL season, they need to wear the coloured jersey decided by the country’s cricket board or BCCI. This is because the jersey colours represent their country or team. For instance, Blue Jersey is for Team India, Yellow Jersey is for Team Australia, etc.
The fabric of the jersey is made up of breathable materials which promote maximum airflow throughout the body. A mixture of cotton, polyester, and spandex fabric is usually for summer to keep the body cool and wool for winter to keep the body warm.
2. Long Trousers
The primary purpose of wearing long trousers during the gameplay is because the players need to put the pads around the thigh and legs with the straps attached to them. The long trouser helps to cause any sort of discomfort while wearing the additional equipment. The trousers are generally a little loose in fit to allow the player to move flexibly and comfortably.
The trousers are typically designed using premium quality material that has a soft texture to ensure the friction of the trouser and the skin shouldn’t cause the player any kind of discomfort. The fabric is highly breathable, has torn resistance with an excellent finish.
3. Arm Guard Sleeves
Armguard sleeves are one of the common things most sports players wear, including cricketers. It is one of the common factors while playing; the player tends to get hurt. The armguard sleeves help in compression while playing, keep the muscles relaxed, and regulate blood flow. It also helps to prevent soreness and reduce the chances of getting a severe injury.
The armguard sleeves also help the player maintain hands flexibility during batting, bowling, catching or throwing the ball, and wicket keeping. In addition, it prevents sudden cramps because of strain.
As the elbow and forearms skin could get sunburn rash and hamper the performance on the field, the armguard sleeves also protect from the dangerous UV rays and keep the skin cool.
It is important to pick the right armguard sleeves. The sleeves should not be too tight as it could be challenging to move the arm, the fabric material should offer UPF 50+, and elastic grip sleeves that should stay in place while playing.
Also See: Top 10 Fittest Cricketers
4. Elbow Guard
As elbow bone is one of the sensitive parts that could get easily damaged when the leather ball hits hard, in addition to the armguard sleeve, the elbow guard pad usually wore by batsmen during the matches for elbow protection. The pad is made of solid material, and it looks a little bulkier and weighted around 100–130 grams. It has an elastic loop and straps to adjust according to the elbow size and move the hand flexibly during the game.
The elbow guard pad is made up of shock-resistant material and a soft cotton towel attached to the inside of the pad to ensure high sweat absorption and keep the elbow cool during the game. Depending on the batsman’s preference, it can be worn along with the armguard sleeves or only an elbow guard pad.
5. Chest Guard
The batsman must be more exposed to incoming bowls, which could be dangerous. The chest guard shields the batman’s chest and kidney area to prevent a sharp injury during the game.
Chest guard wore on the right side by a righthand batsman and left side for the left-handed batsman. The fabric used in the making of chest guard is the premium-high quality of cotton ensure high protection, durability, flexibility, and quick sweat absorption.
The chest guard is also designed for women cricketers to protect them from ball direct hit injuries. The women’s chest guards are worn under the clothing; thus, it is unnoticeable. The material is characteristically designed to prevent the pain from the excessive movement of the breast during the gameplay and reduce the impact of the ball strike.
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