Cricket Batting Gloves

• Overview of batting gloves
• Different sizes
• Protection
• Comfort
• Maintenance
• Purchasing

Most hand and finger injuries occur whilst batting, therefore the batting gloves offer the batter protection from mistimed shots which can lead to the ball crushing the hand against the handle of the bat.

It is very important for batters to wear batting gloves to avoid injuries, however some cricket batting gloves should not be used by senior and high-level school players, because they will only offer a basic level of protection more suitable for junior cricket players.

There are different sized batting gloves for different types of players, ranging from small boys to large and oversized men.

This can be shown in the table below:

It is important to get the right size of glove for your hand, as this will increase the amount of protection to your hands.

Most cricket batting gloves will have raw cotton fibres stuffed into the glove in sausage-like sections. These are connected to the back of a finger and the hand section of a batting glove. As price ranges increase, more modern technology is introduced.

Side Bars – Awkwardly bouncing balls can be difficult for the batter to judge and can often lead to a hand injury. The side bars offer more protection to the index finger of the bottom hand, thus providing more protection to the leading hand.

High Density Foam – This is an upgrade to the basic raw cotton fibres, as it offers more impact absorption, and it provides a reduction in weight which makes the gloves easier to manoeuvre. This is often found in slightly higher priced gloves.

Inserts & Finger Castings – Manufactures have started to incorporate stiffer materials, such as hard strong plastics, which offer greater protection as they spread the impact over a greater area of padding. They have started doing this because when ball speeds increase, raw cotton and high-density foam will no longer protect your hands from injury. The majority of high speed impact injuries occur on the first two fingers of the bottom hand; therefore, the stronger plastics are found at those fingers on the gloves.

D3o & Smart Fabrics – These can offer the same protection as strong plastics for a short period of time; this is because when an impact force is applied the D3o responds and becomes completely rigid. Whilst wearing the glove it will flex and stretch in correlation to your hand movements until it feels an impact, at which point it then acts as a protective shield for a short period of time. However, it must be noted that currently it is only licensed to Gunn and Moore in the cricket market.

As well as protection, comfort is also a very important part of a cricket batting glove. The three main aspects when talking about comfort are feel, flexibility and ventilation.

Feel – When batting for long periods of time, you as the batter will want to make sure that you have gloves that are comfy. Most of the comfort of the glove comes from the material in contact with the palm of your hand. Below there are multiple different materials which are used in the palm of gloves, with benefits of each.

Cotton/PVC
Cotton is the cheapest option, however in warmer environments the cotton will soak up any moisture (i.e. sweat), making it feel very uncomfortable. This may irritate the batter and it will make it hard to maintain a good grip.

PVC is used as a reinforcement in high-wear areas.

Leather
Cow leather provides more durability over the cotton choice, as well as a better feel for the batter.

Calfskin Leather
Most batsmen like to use calfskin leather because it is very soft, which provides great comfort, however calfskin leather is less durable and more likely to wear quicker than many other options.

Kangaroo Leather
Kangaroo is a much lighter leather than many other leathers such as cow, goat and calf. Furthermore, studies have shown that kangaroo leather is one of the strongest leathers, so not only are you getting comfort but you’re also getting durability.

Pittards Leather
Pittards leather has a combination of high durability and comfort. It has textured patterns which are cut into the leather to provide the batter with ultimate grip and bat control in all weather conditions. The leather is treated specially to protect the fibre structure against the effect of perspiration.

Flexibility – Flexibility is a major part of a cricket glove; this is because they need to correspond to the movements of the player’s hand rather than being stuck in the pre-moulded claw. This is a key factor in meeting the comfort of a batsman.

Ventilation – When playing long games, hands will begin to get sweaty and may start to feel uncomfortable as well as compromise your grip. Therefore, you need to make sure that your glove has a good enough air flow. This can be obtained by mesh materials being used in low-wear areas.

To maintain your cricket batting gloves, you need to make sure that you leave them to dry after use and leave them in a warm dry environment. Leaving them in cold wet place will damage them, making them feel uncomfortable as they will become less flexible.

You should try and regularly check for mould and other wear and tear on the gloves, as well as always making sure you treat them with care.

Cricket players want three things from cricket gloves:

• Protection
• Comfort
• Durability

If someone is just a casual player, they’re less likely to spend as much money as someone who plays the game regularly. Therefore, cost will change for the individual based on their level of experience and time spent playing cricket.