Helmet manufacturers Masuri to look into footage of Phillip Hughes injury as he remains in critical condition

Phillip Hughes was struck on the side of his head in a Sheffield Shield match. He remains in critical condition

Australian batsman Phillip Hughes is battling for his life as the global cricket community waits for some good news out of St. Vincent’s in Sydney. Hughes was struck by a bouncer on the back of his head in a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG yesterday and remains in critical condition.

Even as prayers are coming in for Hughes, debates have started whether the current cricketing equipment is capable of protecting a batsman’s head. Hughes was wearing a Masuri Original Test helmet when he was hit by the ball on the side of his head.

Now Masuri, a British helmet manufacturing company, have asked for more footage and images of the incident to study the nature of impact, and how to avoid it in future.

Hughes was struck on the part of head which is not well protected by the helmets. Masuri have said that a newer version of helmets – the Vision Series – is available that fares better in protecting the back of the head, but didn’t say whether it would have prevented the Hughes incident or not.

This image released by Masuri shows the difference between the old Masuri model which Phillip Hughes was wearing, and the new Vision Series

Could a new version of helmet have prevented the injury?

“Following the injury to Phil Hughes, Masuri is actively seeking as much TV and video footage of the incident as possible, to be able to see more conclusively exactly where the player was hit,” a Masuri spokesperson said.

“Masuri would immediately like to join with the world of cricket in wishing Phil Hughes a full and speedy recovery.

“From the footage and pictures currently available to Masuri, it appears that Phil Hughes was struck by the ball to the rear of the grille and below the back of the shell, missing his Masuri Original Test model helmet.

“This is a vulnerable area of the head and neck that helmets cannot fully protect, while enabling batsmen to have full and proper movement.

“The newly-developed Masuri Vision Series helmet, which supersedes the 2013 helmet worn by Phil Hughes, does afford batsmen extra protection in this region – and still allows comfortable movement.”

Masuri, a company based in Winchester in England, have worked closely in the past with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), International Cricket Council (ICC) and British Standards to develop helmets for better protection of a batsman’s head.

However, much of the focus in helmets lately has been on the front part of the equipment, with the gap between the grille and the peak of the helmet the biggest concern.

Not long ago, in the 4th Test between England and India at Old Trafford, a Varun Aaron delivery sneaked through the gap to hit Stuart Broad who suffered a fractured nose. Broad was wearing an Ayrtek Cricket helmet, who are the other major player in the helmet industry. (Read: Was Broad’s helmet responsible for his nasty injury?)

Stuart Broad had suffered a broken nose in the Old Trafford Test earlier this year

Cricket helmets have come a long way

Cricket helmets have come a long way since first being used by batsmen in 1970s. England batsman Dennis Amiss was one of the first players to wear the protective equipment, commented after the Hughes incident how helmets have come a long way.

Rick McCosker and Tony Greig wearing the old helmets

Mike Brearley weaing a helmet with a visor in 1979

“The early helmets were made of Kevlar which is an impact-proof material, a bit like fibre glass only lighter.

“We also had polycarbonate visors on the first ones. Then we put a peak on them, very much like the Australian trotting hats and we put a wire grille on with an A-shape wire to stop them parting.

“My first one was a motorcycle helmet, the second had a peak on with a wire grille. Then people started adding side pieces.

“We were going from not wearing helmets to a helmet with a grille on and some people struggled to see the ball. But if you concentrate on the ball from the hand you don’t notice the grille.

“The problem with the motorcycle helmets is that they were too heavy and too hot. If you batted for an hour or two you really did have an ache in your neck. Even now those of us who wore those helmets our necks have never been quite the same.”