Alastair Cook strides out to bat at Chelmsford wearing his old helmet

[quote author=dillinger10 link=topic=103784.msg690876#msg690876 date=1461562073]Cook seems to be adjusting to life with the new helmet as he put together another fifty for Essex. Can Cook surpass Steve Waugh this year? To score 963 runs in 7 Tests is probably asking too much, though if not this year, by early next year, Cook will move on pass Tugga and up into the top 10 list of most Test runs.
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While I understand the superstition aspect of not wanting to wear a new helmet, I'm not sure if its going to.make much difference performance wise though is it?

The helmet would have made as safe as possible to play in, aswell as to protect the player aswell so apart from the superstition, why else would a player not want to change?

[quote author=pwarbi link=topic=103784.msg690907#msg690907 date=1461596116]
While I understand the superstition aspect of not wanting to wear a new helmet, I'm not sure if its going to.make much difference performance wise though is it?

The helmet would have made as safe as possible to play in, aswell as to protect the player aswell so apart from the superstition, why else would a player not want to change?
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As was discussed up thread by Mail and I, form is very much dependent upon being comfortable at the crease. The main reason Cook was reluctant to switch over to the new style of helmet was not due to superstition, but because he was uncomfortable with the new design.

I am not sure how much cricket you have played through the years or your familiarity with the newer style helmets, but the old style helmets had grilles that were designed more for preventing blows to the mouth. As such, the grilles were much lower down and did not impede the eye-line of the batsman.

The grilles on these newer helmets are fixed rather than adjustable and have a narrower gap between the top of the grille and the peak - designed to prevent the ball from squeezing through and causing similar injuries suffered recently by Broad and McClenaghan - as such, the grille does get in your line of sight and can not only be distracting, but also make it harder to track the ball.

From my own personal experience, it took me a number of hours in the nets before I was comfortable using my first helmet. I felt very uncomfortable and took time to adjust to the grille impinging on my vision. Even then, I still preferred batting without a helmet whenever possible. Comfort and being able to see the cricket ball also plays a large role in being safe at the crease. A point that was well argued by Mark Nicholas in his recent column for ESPN.

I've played cricket in the local leagues, but nowhere near as high of a standard as you I'm guessing, so in that respect I'll take on board your knowledge.

With that being the case then, surely lessons can be learned from this, and on a new design of helmet, then surely they should get the thoughts and opinions of the players that are going to be wearing it, but I would have assumed they'd have done that already, or is that not the case?

It is my understanding that the players were not consulted. It is the manufacturers job to make the safest possible helmets. Unfortunately, safety, comfort and style don't always go hand in hand. MLB players have been very reluctant to switch over to the newer style safer helmets. The same goes for cricketers in Australia as this article explains:

Quote:"We need to do something to enforce change, because a lot of it has been reluctance from the playing group in terms of embracing the new stuff. I'm not just talking on behalf of Albion, I can state this on behalf of the main manufacturers, it's a tough gig trying to get them to [wear the latest helmets]," he said.

Denning expressed frustration about a lack of enforcement from authorities.

"In the horseracing industry we've worked for four years on developing a new helmet for jockeys. The difference is they are going to police it. No one can get on the horse unless they have met the standards.

"We have had those conversations with Cricket Australia and other organisations for years and it's in the too-hard basket. I coach an under-11s team on a Friday night, who is the person who is checking every kid's helmet when they come out to bat or keep? It's a big challenge but other sports have found a way to ensure protective equipment is what it should be. Maybe this can be the catalyst to do something about it.

"I'm not saying every helmet is going to be able to prevent what happened to Phillip Hughes, but some models do it a hell of a lot better than others."

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Victorian spinner Bryce McGain upgraded to a space-age helmet for a couple of one-day games in 2009, prompting commentators to joke that he had left his Vespa at the gate. "I could hardly get it on to any cricketers' heads," said Denning. "Now a couple of brands have brought out something similar, and the science is really good, but it's a struggle to get players to embrace it."

"I wore it because it was safer, which is not to say I didn't trust the helmet I was wearing, which was an Albion as well," McGain said. "When I heard about why they had upgraded the technologies, why it fits better on your head, why it would deflect the ball better, why it covers more area, I just thought it made sense.

"I got ridiculed openly by commentators and when I went back to my club they said, 'What were you wearing? You looked ridiculous.' I was of the view that everyone will be wearing them but it was really the players that stopped it."

In case you didn't get a chance to read it, Mark Nicholas' opposing view on helmets and player safety is well worth a read.

Quote:Cook is a fine player of fast bowling, who has largely avoided physical damage. He knows his game and his limitations. The key for him is to see the ball early and move late. For this he needs to be confident and comfortable. An unwieldy or heavy helmet, a visor or grille that impairs vision: indeed, any headgear that simply does not feel right for whatever reason, compromises both these needs. Ideally, and certainly at the professional level, protective equipment should be custom-made for each user. It is unwise to insist upon a standard design and may be self-defeating. Of course, any design should provide the necessary safeguards but within personal requirement.

The specific issue for Cook is different. He prefers more leeway than the recently standardised and mandatory 50-millimetre gap between the peak of the helmet and the grille. He says that the top bar of the grille now directly interferes with his line of sight. This may be the helmet itself or it may be the shape of his face, or head. He feels safer if he has a better view of the ball, which makes sense, and he was able to adjust the grille on his previous helmet to accommodate that. He is neither careless about his safety nor about the example he sets. Far from it. He is driven to find the right helmet and the most realistic resolution to achieve greater safety. For the moment, at least, he has done the right thing by his employer, who will be relieved of the runs scored under the application of its jurisdiction.

It might be your understanding that they didn't get asked their opinions, but do you think they should have been? Personally I don't see the point of a manufacturer being asked to make the safest possible helmet, if no player wants to wear it or as even had a say in how its been made.

Also how would they even know how much safer the new design is, if it hadn't been tested by people who play cricket in the first place? Maybe they didn't ask the players their thoughts and opinions, but in future then it might be something for them to think about.

[quote author=pwarbi link=topic=103784.msg691236#msg691236 date=1461764774]
It might be your understanding that they didn't get asked their opinions, but do you think they should have been? Personally I don't see the point of a manufacturer being asked to make the safest possible helmet, if no player wants to wear it or as even had a say in how its been made.

Also how would they even know how much safer the new design is, if it hadn't been tested by people who play cricket in the first place? Maybe they didn't ask the players their thoughts and opinions, but in future then it might be something for them to think about.
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If you read the entire Mark Nicholas article I linked to in my previous post, you will find some of your answers there. In short, in order for helmets to prevent the ball from squeezing through the grille, the gap between the peak of the helmet and the grille has to be 50-millimetres. Any gap larger than that would not prevent the ball from squeezing through. As such, there was nothing to consult the players over. There is no other way to prevent this.

We should not overlook the fact that Cook and Johnathan Trott are the only two players that were reluctant to make the change - I believe all other players have done so willingly, Rather interestingly, since making the switch to the new helmets, Cook has a fifty and century to his name and Trott plundered a double century against Middlesex. 

If you are interested in learning more, it might be a good idea for you to go into your local cricket shop and try one of the Masuri Vision Series Elite helmets, then you can see for yourself and have a better understanding of how the new grilles impact your line of sight.

You may also find this article published last year by All Out Cricket that takes an inside look at the rigorous testing the helmets undergo. Everything is tested by machinery. You wouldn't test the helmets under live conditions with some poor chap taking 90mph fastballs off the dome hoping the helmets will protect them LOL. It is all done in a controlled environment, much like vehicle crash testing.

http://www.alloutcricket.com/cricket/fea...-lid-tests

Seeing as I asked what your opinion was on the matter though, would I find that in the article that you linked, or in the local cricket shop aswell? All I wanted to know was if you personally thought the manufacturer should have consulted with the players to stop something like this from cropping up.