The late and much lamented Brian Johnson used to enjoy telling a story about another great character of the English game, the former England batsman and archetypal no-nonsense Yorkshireman Brian Close. Playing in a county match against Gloucestershire and fielding practically under the batsman’s nose at short leg, as was his wont, and without so much as a cap on his head for protection, he was struck above the right eye by a pull shot, sending the ball ballooning over the wicketkeeper and into the hands of Phil Sharpe at slip. “But Mr Close,” said a concerned spectator as he left the field at the lunch interval, “what if you had been hit square between the eyes?” “Then he’d have been caught at cover!” came the reply.
The recent announcement by the ECB that all professional cricketers will be required to wear helmets while batting or fielding close to the wicket finally brings to an end the era of the cap, floppy sunhat and habitual disregard for personal safety emblematic of Close and his times. Recent high-profile incidents culminating in the desperately tragic death of Phillip Hughes last year, as well as the career-ending eye injuries sustained by Mark Boucher and Craig Kieswetter, have thrown into sharp focus the dangers of the sport, and the new directive will apply to batsmen facing all types of bowling, wicket-keepers standing up to the wicket and, apart from those in the slips on the off side, fielders standing closer than eight yards from the stumps.
The ECB has also recommended that recreational cricketers wear helmets. Conscious of cost implications, though, and the need to keep at bay any potential barriers to participation at a time of falling numbers of club cricketers throughout the country, their recommendation will not be made mandatory.
By not looking to introduce a compulsory law into the recreational game the ECB have saved themselves from a battle they could never win, of course. With the vast majority of weekend cricket being played without official umpires any order would have been totally unenforceable, and so the governing body will instead hope that club players at whatever level will follow the example of their professional counterparts.
The average helmetless Sunday league batsman is unlikely to be faced with much in the way of physical danger from fast bowling, of course – typically encountering bowlers more of the pace of Dale Winton than Dale Steyn perhaps – but even the most innocuous of deliveries has the potential to cause serious damage. Speaking personally, I have been hit on the head twice while playing, once in the nets and once in a match, both times as a result of top-edged attacking shots, with ambition overriding technique in my case.
But therein lies the reason a club batsman should always wear a helmet: not so much for protection from the bowler but rather from himself. For close fielders in a time of ever more powerful bats with big sweet spots a helmet is, if anything, even more essential, and it is to be hoped that the ECB are planning to be very visible in the promotion of their advice within the club game.
Also high on the agenda is the protection of umpires. In the very same week that Phillip Hughes lost his life there was a second tragedy when Israeli umpire Hillel Oscar was struck in the neck by a ricocheting ball during a domestic game. There have been several other injuries to umpires – not to mention other fatalities – and with the vast improvements in bat technology in recent years together with the ever increasing repertoire of attacking shots being played by batsmen it is a situation that can only become more perilous to the men in the middle as time goes on.
The main conundrum to be solved here is in finding a form of protection. Cardiff Metropolitan University have been testing a lightweight, non-foam based material that can be worn under the traditional coat, and tests have also begun to determine the suitability of visors and baseball-style protective masks with a view to having something that will be effective, unobtrusive and comfortable enough for a cricket umpire’s seven hour day. There are several institutions and manufacturers currently looking at potential solutions, which they would have to be implemented by the beginning of the 2016 season.
Changes to the Laws of Cricket to protect umpires have also been proposed. Rod Marsh, speaking at the annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, suggested that the current front foot no-ball regulation should revert to the old back foot law, allowing umpires to stand a further two metres back from their current position.
“You put yourself in the umpire’s position when a batsman runs at the bowler and smashes a straight drive at about chest height,” said Marsh.
“I, for one, would want to be standing back as far as possible. If I happened to be umpiring right now, I’d be wearing a baseball helmet, a chest pad, shin guards and an abdominal protector.”
“Maybe we have to make this safety gear for umpires compulsory for all international and first-class games.”
Whatever the result of the current discussions the ECB are to be commended in their efforts to tighten up safety in the English game. What is really needed, though, is a global strategy, led by the ICC, to ensure that the game in all parts of the world is played to similar standards of safety. There will always be risks, of course, and freak accidents can always happen – Phillip Hughes was wearing a helmet after all – but anything that can reduce the hazards for both players and umpires must be embraced by all.
The world of Brian Close was in many ways one in which the shadow of gentlemen and players still lingered – a time of characters, the swashbuckler, the showman, the enforcer and, in Close, the gritty nugget. Nearly forty years after his perilous duel with Michael Holding at Old Trafford in 1976 the footage still has the power to terrify and exhilarate in equal measure and it is undoubtedly a little sad when such an iconic spectacle and the era it represents has to be finally consigned to history.
Cricket is a different game these days, however. Bats have changed, shots have changed, players have changed – and alongside that conventions, attitudes, cricket protection and, if necessary, the Laws must also change in order to keep everyone involved in the world game, at whatever level they play, as safe as they can possibly be.
