Cricket Protective Equipment: Gloves, Pads, Thigh Guards and Body Armour
Cricket's protective equipment — batting gloves, leg pads, thigh guards and body armour — has evolved significantly to protect batters from serious injury. This guide explains the equipment and how it works.
Cricket batters face a hard leather ball travelling at speeds up to 90+ mph (145 km/h), making protective equipment essential. The basic protective equipment for batting consists of batting gloves (protecting hands and fingers), leg pads or batting pads (protecting shins, knees and lower thighs), a thigh guard (protecting the upper thigh), an abdominal guard or 'box' (protecting the groin), an arm guard (protecting the forearm), a chest guard (protecting the chest and ribcage) and a helmet (protecting the head). The Laws of Cricket specify which equipment is required and what is permitted.
Batting Gloves
Batting gloves are among the most important protective items. They protect the fingers and hands from the impact of the cricket ball on the bat handle and from direct ball strikes. Modern batting gloves have thick rubber 'sausage' fingers filled with high-density foam, with a spandex or leather palm for grip. The Laws of Cricket (Law 27.2) specify that batting gloves may only be worn on the hand and that no external material may protrude from the glove fingers (to prevent a 'caught behind' from glove material). Gloves must protect without artificially assisting play. Most professional batters wear gloves from their equipment sponsors, custom-fitted for hand size and grip preference.
Leg Pads and Body Armour
Leg pads (batting pads) protect the lower leg from knee to ankle against direct ball impact. They are made of layered foam and fibre with a leather exterior and strap fastenings at the back of the leg. Modern leg pads are significantly lighter and less bulky than traditional pads, allowing better movement. Body armour has evolved in response to injuries — particularly after Phil Hughes's fatal injury in 2014 from a ball striking the base of the skull. Modern chest guards, arm guards and thigh guards use advanced materials including gel padding and high-density foam that can absorb high-velocity ball impacts better than traditional cotton-filled equipment.
Frequently asked questions
What protective equipment must a batter wear in cricket?
While not all equipment is legally mandatory, best practice (and most competition rules) require batting gloves, leg pads, an abdominal guard and a helmet at all levels of cricket. In professional cricket, batters typically also wear a thigh guard, arm guard and chest guard. The helmet is now considered compulsory for batting at all levels of the game following updated safety guidelines.
Why are cricket batting gloves so thick?
Cricket batting gloves are thick because the cricket ball (hard, cork-and-leather, approximately 156g) strikes the bat at speeds up to 90+ mph. Without thick padding, a ball striking the fingers or hands would cause immediate fracture or severe injury. The 'sausage' finger design and thick palm padding are specifically engineered to absorb the kinetic energy of a fast-delivered cricket ball.
What changed after Phil Hughes's death?
Following Phil Hughes's death in 2014, cricket boards worldwide updated helmet standards to require neck guards that protect the back of the skull and the base of the neck. ICC and national boards mandated that helmets must meet a new standard (British Standard BS 7928:2013) with improved coverage. Manufacturers also accelerated development of improved neck guard technology that is now standard on most professional helmets.