Without question I have far too much cricket equipment, and ‘worse’ than that I have too much cricket equipment that is of a far better quality than I will ever do justice to. But does that mean I should have bought cheaper kit? A recurring comment throughout the cricket reviews on the site is that for the vast majority of us mere mortal cricketers entry level equipment would suffice, but is that the correct approach?
Overall the answer to that is yes, but I do think there are cases to be made for ‘exceptions’.
One thing about cricket is that you need a LOT of stuff but the main items are going to be your bat, pads, gloves and helmet so I have focussed on these four items in this post.
Batting Gloves
Anyone that has received a blow to the hand, particularly the end of your thumb, a knuckle or wrist will know that it hurts, and can easily result in a few missed games. I would pit gloves in the ‘exceptions’ category and advise you to spend as much as you can afford on gloves that provide as much protection as possible.
These reviews may help, and I have given price ranges from a number of manufacturers below.
Gray-Nicolls currently have a range of Adult Batting Gloves which starts at £50 and goes up to £120
Masuri currently have a range of Adult Batting Gloves which starts at £55 and goes up to £125
Williamson Boucher currently have a range of Adult Batting Gloves starting at £25 and going up to £95
Cricket Bats
By far the largest price range will be found with cricket bats and navigating the models and various grades can be daunting, and again for a weekend cricketer aspiring to top 500 runs a season does it really matter? Arguably no, but I put a cricket bat in my ‘exceptions’ list because I think a good quality bat will add another 25%+ to your total simply because the same shot will go further and harder with a better quality bat.
These reviews may help, and I have given price ranges from a number of manufacturers below.
Gray-Nicolls currently have an Adult Bat range that starts at £75 and goes up to £500
Masuri currently have an Adult Bat range that starts at £325 and goes up to £600
Williamson Boucher currently have a range of Adult Custom Bats that starts at £150 and goes up to £450 and Adult Stock Bats which start at £125 and go up to £550.
Batting Pads
With pads you are looking for the right balance of protection and comfort and for the majority of us that really just means comfort as pretty much any modern cricket pad will have ample protection.
Personally I wouldn’t be so worried about paying more than you have to with your pads, so start looking at the lower end of the price range.
These reviews may help, and I have given price ranges from a number of manufacturers below.
Gray-Nicolls currently have an Adult Batting Pad range that starts at £50 and goes up to £150
Masuri currently have an Adult Batting Pad range that starts at £70 and goes up to £130
Williamson Boucher currently have a range of Adult Batting Pad that starts at £25 and goes up to £100
Helmet
Your head is by far the most important part of you that needs protecting, so I wouldn’t blame anyone for starting at the top of the price range, but the reality is that most people I have played with start at the bottom working on the theory that a) they are unlikely to get hit on the head and b) the pace of bowling they face doesn’t warrant a top of the range helmet.
If you bat a long time comfort, weight, protection and ventilation will need to be considered for most of us protection is ample, weight and ventilation not a significant issue so concentrate on the comfort.
These reviews may help, and I have given price ranges from a number of manufacturers below. I would recommend protecting your neck as the temptation is always to turn away from a ball aimed at your head, and if you fancy a club logo on your new helmet I can highly recommend Elite Lids.
Masuri currently have an Adult Batting Helmet range starting at £50 and going up to £180
Gray-Nicolls currently have an Adult Cricket Helmet range starting at £35 and going up to £225
Shrey currently have an Adult Cricket Helmet range starting at £50 and going up to £150