Ilford Cricket Club
Safety Guidance - Parents / Guardians
In recent years it has become more common for professional cricketers and those playing a high standard of recreational cricket to wear a helmet when batting. Helmets have become more widely available and are now covered by a British Standard.
Many young cricketers playing with a hard ball do not currently wear a helmet. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has issued new safety guidance which recommends that helmets should be worn when batting against a hard cricket ball in matches and in practice sessions, and encourages players to regard a helmet with a faceguard as a normal item of protective equipment when batting, together with pads, gloves and, for boys an abdominal protector (box).
The guidance also recommends that young wicket keepers should wear a helmet when standing up to the stumps. The guidance applies to all young players up to the age of 18.
As a sport, cricket is not generally a dangerous game, but parents will appreciate that the use of a hard ball can create the possibility of injury and will need to assess the risk to their young player, taking into account his or her skill level and the type of match or practice involved.
The ECB has advised all coaches, teachers, managers and umpires that they should not allow a young player without a helmet to bat or to stand up to the stumps when keeping wicket against a hard ball except with written parental consent.
For legal reasons players will not be able to bat or to stand up to the stumps when keeping wicket without a helmet in practice sessions or matches involving a hard ball until the consent form is received.
Please contact a clubs offical, should you require a consent form to be completed.