Indoor Cricket Gear Guide

All the things a player needs for a game of cricket are regulated by a set of rules or the “Laws of Cricket”. These rules are the same for cricket anywhere in the world. If you are getting ready for a game of indoor cricket, first you need to prepare an indoor cricket kit, with the most important things, not only for the game but also for your protection.

Things You Need for Indoor Cricket

Besides the clothes you’re going to wear, the list of items for indoor cricket isn’t as long as the one for outdoor cricket, and more importantly, you buying good indoor cricket gear isn’t going to cost you as much. Apart from the ball and the bat, the main purpose of most parts of the indoor cricket equipment is to protect the player against injuries. In cricket, this mainly refers to the protection of the players’ hands, as well as the protection from injuries from hits with the ball all over the body, even if you use a lighter and softer ball during your game. So, basically, to start playing indoor cricket, you need a cricket ball, a cricket bat, gloves, and some additional protective gear.

Cricket Gloves

When it comes to the player’s protection and performance, one of the most important items on the list of indoor cricket gear, are gloves. These pieces are mandatory. Batsmen and wicket keepers wear different types of gloves, both designed especially for the protection of the player, as well as to help the players perform better in their area.

Batting gloves

Used by the cricket batsmen during batting period of the game, batting gloves not only provide the player with better grip, but they are responsible for the protection of their hand. They provide warmth and comfort, they prevent blisters, and they absorb the shock when the player kicks the ball.

There are traditional and modern batting gloves. The modern come with finger cuts, while the traditional without. Modern batting gloves are more protective and they provide more comfort and flexibility.

Furthermore, cricket batting gloves have different padding material on the fingers and on the palm. Finger padding are made of foam and cotton, while palm padding is made of cotton and leather.

Keeping Gloves

Used by the wicket-keeper during fielding period of the game, wicket keeping gloves serve to help the cricket players in catching and fielding the balls thrown by a teammate or hit by a batsman. They come in various sizes and they feature palm padding, palm lining, finger end caps and webbing.

The palm padding, made with leather and synthetic, is what protects your hand from possible injures, by minimising the impact, limiting the force and absorbing the shock. Apart from protecting your hand, this padding in turn also allows for a better grip and helps you make a successful catch, by slowing down the ball and stopping it from bouncing out of your hands.

The palm lining is the part of the glove that touches your hand directly. Because of this, it’s important that it’s comfortable and soft so that it doesn’t cause irritation on the skin. The materials used in this part of the keeping glove includes cotton and leather. The material joining the thumb and the index finger on a keeping glove is called webbing. This area is an additional surface for catching the ball.

During a game of cricket, regardless of how serious it is, fingers are constantly at risk of injury. This is why, to protect the player’s fingers, wicket keeping gloves feature finger end caps, made from sturdy materials like PVC or rubber. These cylindrical objects are built into all five fingers, covering the player’s fingertips.

Additional Protective Equipment

While you are on the quest of preparing your indoor cricket kit, it may be a good idea to get some additional protection for the rest of your body, since you are very likely to get some blows, you’ll jump and dive and you may fall. Fortunately, there is protective gear for cricket designed for any part of your body. Your protective gear kit can include arm guards, chest guards, abdo guard, also called box, legs pads, knee pads, thigh pads, elbow-pads, mouth-guards, helmets, protective eyewear…

Cricket Bat

There is a wide variety of cricket bats with different quality, as well as different prices. However, since indoor cricket ball can be much lighter and somewhat softer, if you are buying a bat to play indoor cricket, you don’t need a very costly bat. You can invest in an indoor cricket bat, which won’t cost as much, but will do its job nicely.

Bats used in cricket shouldn’t be longer than 96.5 centimetres, and they shouldn’t be wider than 10.8 centimetres. When it comes to the weight there isn’t a rule, but most bats weigh between 1.2 kg and 1.4 kg. Although it’s a matter of choice, many players prefer lighter bats for indoor cricket.