Rethink on helmet design expected: experts

Phillip Hughes’ devastating head injury might prompt a rethink about helmet design but it’s impossible to completely safeguard batsmen.

Sydney University biomechanics expert Edouard Ferdinands says improvements in helmet design – such as a skullcap inside the helmet – are being considered by manufacturers but critical injuries in cricket remain a possibility.

His comments came after the manufacturer of Hughes’ helmet, UK-based Masuri, said the cricketer wasn’t wearing the company’s most-up-to-date model when a bouncer on Tuesday left him fighting for his life.

But even the best helmet would be hard pressed to fully protect a batsman from a ball travelling at speeds of around 145km/h, Dr Ferdinands said.

“It’s fraught with a certain amount of risk,” he told AAP.

“It’s like grand prix car racing, you can improve safety standards but there’s always a chance (of an accident).

“When you’re looking at balls coming at you at 145km/h – the amount of force that’s there and the short reaction time, it’s always going to be one of those sports where the batsman has to avoid the ball and not rely on the helmet.”

He said a skull cap, worn inside the helmet, is being considered.

“Some companies have talked about it but haven’t progressed to the design stage,” Dr Ferdinands said.

“I think now that will happen, because of the unfortunate incident.”

Dr Ferdinands said the shortcomings of helmets had been demonstrated just a fortnight ago when Pakistan batsman Ahmed Shehzad suffered a fractured skull.

“He was hit on the actual helmet, and it fractured his skull,” Dr Ferdinands said of the incident during a Test match against New Zealand.

“I see it in younger cricketers. They tend not to worry about short balls so much and think they can rely on the helmet.”

Masuri said it was seeking as much footage of the incident as possible.

Masuri said the footage and pictures of the incident appeared to show Hughes was struck by the ball to the rear of his helmet’s grille and below the back of the shell.

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

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