#360cricket: No compromise on safety as Kieswetter retires

Ajit Vijaykumar 01:39 08/06/2015
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  • Saying goodbye: Kieswetter.

    Sadly, another career has been cut short in international cricket in unfortunate circumstances. England wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter was forced to call it a day after failing to recover completely from a blow to his face last year which impaired his vision.

    Even though he returned to play a couple of matches, and even took part in a T20 against South Africa, Kieswetter took the season off from playing for Somerset in order to get back to his best. But after failing to reach the level he wanted to, and admitting “mentally, I will never again be the player that I was”, the South Africa born player retired from international cricket.

    Tragic is the only way to describe the end of Kieswetter’s career. Here was a player who seemed set to forge a long career for the Three Lions after starting off with a bang, smashing a match-winning half-century in the 2010 World T20 final in what was his first year on the international circuit.

    However, a dip in form forced him out of national reckoning and the battle to win his spot back began. Last year, while batting for Somerset against Nottinghamshire, the 27-year-old was struck in the face when a ball went between the grille and helmet, breaking his nose and damaging his eye socket. His plight has brought the focus back on head injuries in cricket and how they can be guarded against.

    The memories of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes are still fresh in our minds. Watching a cricketer get hit on the head while batting made the cricketing fraternity look at safety equipment very seriously.

    There have been other instances of such work-related injuries. South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher was hit on his left eye in a tour game in England in 2012 when leg spinner Imran Tahir bowled a Somerset batsman and the dislodged bail flew to hit the gloveman on his left eye. Boucher never played again.

    Before him, Indian ‘keeper Saba Karim’s career took a big blow when, while playing against Bangaldesh in an ODI in 2010, an Anil Kumble delivery struck him in the right eye. He did play a Test match thereafter but that was it for Karim.

    Even though it took a lot of time, the quality of helmets has started to improve gradually. Manufacturers have started to make sturdier helmets while British company Masuri have designed a clip-on application (StemGuard) to protect the back of the neck of the batsmen – the spot where Hughes was tragically hit resulting in his demise.

    The International Cricket Council, on its part, came out with certain recommendations following its Cricket Committee’s meeting last month which included a move to make all helmets worn by international players certified to new British Standards for the equipment.

    It’s important that the ICC takes concrete steps to ensure that avoidable injuries like that of Kieswetter become a thing of the past. With batsmen getting more adventurous and playing more audacious strokes despite technical deficiencies (in many cases), the least that can be done is provide the best possible protection to a batter so that his life and limb are not in danger.

    South African maverick batsman AB de Villiers revealed he wears three abdominal guards so that he can play his lap shots with confidence as he knows it’s only a matter of time before he gets hit. That is the mentality of batsmen now and some safety features need to be put in place.

    One can only hope that Kieswetter’s is the last career ended by an avoidable injury. Apart from the recommendations made by the Cricket Committee, the ICC should also consider some other changes. The double-bar grill, for example, should be made mandatory in all helmets as it reduces the possibility of the ball finding a way through. Also, all wicketkeepers standing up to the stumps should be forced to wear helmets.

    India’s Dinesh Karthik and Kiwi gloveman Peter McGlashan showed the way forward by donning baseball helmets briefly. Though comfort might have been a factor in baseball helmets not gaining popularity, it remains the best option for wicketkeepers who want to protect their face while standing up to the stumps and should be tried out more extensively.

    Cricket is not a contact sport but some of the hits players take are gruesome. The least the custodians of the game can do is remove the possibility, as much as possible, of such freak incidents. 

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