Cricket helmet - old school side guards

[Andrewdads]

Hi everyone
I’m trying to find a Cricket helmet you can buy with the old school Perspex/plastic side guards like AB is sporting here. Seems you can’t get these anymore. Grills
Only. Or Anyone with an old helmet or even just the side guards they’d be willing to part with? any idea how to find these?
Andrew

 

[ROOTA#6]

Hi everyone
I’m trying to find a Cricket helmet you can buy with the old school Perspex/plastic side guards like AB is sporting here. Seems you can’t get these anymore. Grills
Only. Or Anyone with an old helmet or even just the side guards they’d be willing to part with? any idea how to find these?
Andrew

You won’t be able to buy anything like that over a counter..it would have to be via eBay or a garage sale etc.

Can’t be worn in a game tho

 

[PhatBoy]

You won’t be able to buy anything like that over a counter..it would have to be via eBay or a garage sale etc.

Can’t be worn in a game tho

the laws aren’t uniform everywhere yet.
We don’t have to wear them (country NsW)

 

[Mockcockpit]

Was Matthew Elliott the last test player to wear that style helmet? I can't think of any others of the top of my head.

 

[PhatBoy]

Was Matthew Elliott the last test player to wear that style helmet? I can't think of any others of the top of my head.

Jimmy Adams would be my guess - when Elliott had his brief return he wore a grille im pretty sure.

carl Hooper also I don’t think ever wore a grille

 

[PhatBoy]

Hooper was definitely still wearing ear guards in 2002

 

[truedemon]

Hi everyone
I’m trying to find a Cricket helmet you can buy with the old school Perspex/plastic side guards like AB is sporting here. Seems you can’t get these anymore. Grills
Only. Or Anyone with an old helmet or even just the side guards they’d be willing to part with? any idea how to find these?
Andrew

ive still got an old pair on a helmet back from the day i played cricket at the folks house,

doubt you could still buy them no one wears them any more as times has changed so much!

back in the day helmets were worn for the openers and for the odd really quick bowler. any batsman who came out to bat in a helmet other wise, rather non PC comments were made at them and some good banter was had!

a few years ago made the odd a comeback to cricket. times have changed, players were doing laps, no one smoked or drank beers before training & walking in to bat with a baseball cap with strange looks & whispers from the fielders youd feel like richie richardson being one of the last players not wear a helmet in test cricket

 

[marksheadi]

I still have an old pair on a helmet from when I used to play cricket at my parents' place.

I doubt you'd be able to get them now. Because times have changed so dramatically, hardly one wears them any longer!

Helmets were used by the openers and the occasional exceptionally fast bowler back in the day. Any batter who stepped out to bat in a helmet was subjected to a barrage of non-PC jibes, as well as some more amusing banter!

a few years ago, he made an unusual return to cricket. Players used to run laps, no one smoked or drank beer before training, and coming into the batter's box wearing a baseball cap drew unusual stares and murmurs from the fielders, making you feel like Richie Richardson, one of the last players not to wear a cap.

 

[worbod]

Jimmy Adams would be my guess - when Elliott had his brief return he wore a grille im pretty sure.

carl Hooper also I don’t think ever wore a grille

The only sportsman since then to have a grill is George Foreman.

 

[nick1408]

Hi everyone
I’m trying to find a Cricket helmet you can buy with the old school Perspex/plastic side guards like AB is sporting here. Seems you can’t get these anymore. Grills
Only. Or Anyone with an old helmet or even just the side guards they’d be willing to part with? any idea how to find these?
Andrew

Fortunately or unfortunately, (and I'm willing to be corrected) any helmet sold within Australia now must conform to the British Standard BS7928:2013. CA put out a recommendation a couple of seasons ago - https://www.community.cricket.com.a...-/media/538A0B27E69A4AEB82AD41EA479C93FE.ashx regarding the use of helmets within club cricket.

To go on further; British Standard BS7928:2013 means that your face guard must not be able to be adjusted or removed. It forms the protective barrier to the face that old helmets either didn't have (such as in your photo) or players adjusted to such a point that would allow a ball to travel within:



I'm pretty sure the bloke with the maroon helmet is wearing the same helmet as Phil Hughes was wearing when he sadly died, although Hughes had his adjusted differently (not that it mattered in this case). Also, the guys above are clearly not wearing British Standard BS7928:2013 helmets and they are recent-ish photos so I'm not sure how far along the ICC recommendation is on helmets (mentioned in the link above for those who didn't read it).

 

[Soggy2112]

Fortunately or unfortunately, (and I'm willing to be corrected) any helmet sold within Australia now must conform to the British Standard BS7928:2013. CA put out a recommendation a couple of seasons ago - https://www.community.cricket.com.a...-/media/538A0B27E69A4AEB82AD41EA479C93FE.ashx regarding the use of helmets within club cricket.

To go on further; British Standard BS7928:2013 means that your face guard must not be able to be adjusted or removed. It forms the protective barrier to the face that old helmets either didn't have (such as in your photo) or players adjusted to such a point that would allow a ball to travel within:

View attachment 1268578View attachment 1268579

I'm pretty sure the bloke with the maroon helmet is wearing the same helmet as Phil Hughes was wearing when he sadly died, although Hughes had his adjusted differently (not that it mattered in this case). Also, the guys above are clearly not wearing British Standard BS7928:2013 helmets and they are recent-ish photos so I'm not sure how far along the ICC recommendation is on helmets (mentioned in the link above for those who didn't read it).

Hughes was wearing the model before that helmet came out. I remember at the time lots of players were still wearing it (Clarke included) but switched immediately after.

Part of the reason being that it was suggested that the newer model and its shape better protected that vulnerable spot Hughes was hit on.



I don’t want to speculate too much but it’s hard not to wonder if he would’ve been okay if he was wearing the newer helmet, looking at those images.

 

[gbatman]

I got a pair of those side guards from a mate to try but decidede against it, grill screws off and side guards screw on in it's place.

 

[BronCrow]

Jimmy Adams would be my guess - when Elliott had his brief return he wore a grille im pretty sure.

carl Hooper also I don’t think ever wore a grille

The other West Indian that played till possibly later than either of them that never wore a grille was Sherwin Campbell.


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[PhatBoy]

The other West Indian that played till possibly later than either of them that never wore a grille was Sherwin Campbell.


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

He did wear ear guards but hooper outlasted him I’m fairly sure

 

[BronCrow]

He did wear ear guards but hooper outlasted him I’m fairly sure

Having looked it up, Hooper did outlast Campbell, but not by much. Campbell's last test was January 2002, Hooper's November 2002.

 

[PhatBoy]

Having looked it up, Hooper did outlast Campbell, but not by much. Campbell's last test was January 2002, Hooper's November 2002.

I wouldn’t have picked that I thought Campbell was a year or two gone by then

 

[The hands of stone]

I wouldn’t have picked that I thought Campbell was a year or two gone by then

Hooper was rolling with it when he played premier cricket , think it was 99/2000 we played him.
Last guy I saw who wore won.
Lasted 6 balls with it then reverted to his floppy hat .
Only padded up when the wicket fell for his turn to bat, didnt even take gaurd either

 

[BronCrow]

I wouldn’t have picked that I thought Campbell was a year or two gone by then

Another guy that wore it in to the late 90's, which is a bit obscure, is former NZ opener Matthew Horne.

 

[PhatBoy]

Another guy that wore it in to the late 90's, which is a bit obscure, is former NZ opener Matthew Horne.

With the added characteristic that the chin guard was always tilted to one side of his jaw

 

[PhatBoy]

Hooper was rolling with it when he played premier cricket , think it was 99/2000 we played him.
Last guy I saw who wore won.
Lasted 6 balls with it then reverted to his floppy hat .
Only padded up when the wicket fell for his turn to bat, didnt even take gaurd either

Mate he was cooler than a glacier. Gayle is a cool cat but his coolness is very calculated. Hooper just genuinely looked like he did not give two f***s about anything. No thigh pad, no grille, no fear, and more talent than just about anyone to ever pick up a bat

 

[Mockcockpit]

More wasted talent than just about anyone to ever pick up a bat. Average 36, should have been an all-time great

 

[footyfan1978]

I still have an old pair on a helmet from when I used to play cricket at my parents' place.

I doubt you'd be able to get them now. Because times have changed so dramatically, hardly one wears them any longer!

Yeah, probably got one at my parents old place too. That place got sold but I bet it still there somewhere in back shed, near where used to have a cricket pitch.
I tried them a few times when helmets were new in early 80's as a kid but I really could not stand batting with them as it buggered up your vision or sense of balance. But when I was still playing in early 2000's most guys would wear them in matches or in the nets. But could still go under the grill. I remember one Thursday training I seen one of guys with black eye and he never ever batted without a helmet even in nets. But he told me I gave him the black eye from Tuesday training but I rarely bowled bouncers so it obviously was one of rare balls the came in as late inswinger when my stock ball outswinger and would have come off edge of his bat and gone up at him from under the grill. So those helmets still had issues.

Club cricket I still think a lot of people could play without one as lot of bowlers not bowling quick enough to get too concerned at bouncers. I think it way better just keeping I on ball that being lazy wearing a helmet to give you a sense of protection but not having a good technique to short balls. I really think Hughes lost his life because of poor technique of taking eye off ball and simply expecting helmet will protect. Sadly too many others do the same that only ever played with a helmet but thankfully deaths are still few and far between.

 

[Mox255]

You won’t be able to buy anything like that over a counter..it would have to be via eBay or a garage sale etc.

Can’t be worn in a game tho

Not true, I wore ear guards on a helmet in a match in NSW as recently as the 19th of Feb 2022.

 

[Mox255]

ive still got an old pair on a helmet back from the day i played cricket at the folks house,

doubt you could still buy them no one wears them any more as times has changed so much!

back in the day helmets were worn for the openers and for the odd really quick bowler. any batsman who came out to bat in a helmet other wise, rather non PC comments were made at them and some good banter was had!

a few years ago made the odd a comeback to cricket. times have changed, players were doing laps, no one smoked or drank beers before training & walking in to bat with a baseball cap with strange looks & whispers from the fielders youd feel like richie richardson being one of the last players not wear a helmet in test cricket

I still wear them on a helmet in games and did so as recently as the 19th of Feb 2022. I also played a few years ago with ex Victorian cricketer Ian Wrigglesworth who also wore them. They are still about. As for buying them, there was an online cricket store based in the US which were selling the old Gray-Nichols versions, but you can't buy helmets anymore with the pegs, the new standards require Grills to be permanently fixed to the helmet.