Cricket and Cricketers
The joke about cricketers is a male genital protector was in use 200 years ago. No one made head protection before the 1970’s even though at the top level some bowlers were capable of legitimately hurling a 5 ½ oz missile in your direction at speeds approaching 100 mph.
Cricket is a strange environment where everyone recognises the sensible option is to wear effective protective equipment. Even now, in this increasingly litigious time, cricketers are wearing equipment that has not been tested, or it is so old it should have been replaced by now.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s, sports and medical science concerning concussion only responded to a visible and obvious head trauma, dizziness, double vision and/or being knocked out.
We have since learned a great deal more and recognise that standards developed in the past might not be stringent enough given what we now know.
The Cricket Helmet testing standard may be one of those. Originally developed in the 1980s, it has been modified over time, but may not be stringent enough for today. Times have moved on and standards will evolve, but our duty is to improve performance and protection now.
Remember: Standards for testing and certification of products are science based and designed to replicate in a laboratory what happens in the natural environment in which we live.
Most helmet standards appear to have an upper limit 250 gn * as the failure line.
- The BS 7928:2013+A1:2019Standard sets the fail rate of the drop test at 250 gn *
Neuroscientist studies suggest:
- Death occurs at around 300/315 gn *
- Concussion probably occur when the head receives a blow that is measured in excess of 90/98 gn *
* 1gn = a deceleration of 9.81 m/sec2
