McCullum against blanket helmet rule

There has been a mixed response to former Australian opener Chris Rogers' call to make neck guards compulsory for batsmen.

Australia's Chris Rogers.

Former opener Chris Rogers wants cricket authorities to make neck guards compulsory for batsmen. (AAP)

Chris Rogers' call for clip-on neck guards to become compulsory has been met with caution by past and present cricketers.

In the lead up to the first anniversary of Phillip Hughes' death, former Australian opening batsman Rogers questioned whether the sport has done enough to stop a similar incident from happening again.

Hughes lost consciousness when struck on the neck by a bouncer while batting for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield at the SCG on November 25 last year. He died two days later.

New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum feels it would be wrong to enforce a blanket rule across the sport.

"I'm a bit old-fashioned. I don't tend to like using those kinds of things," McCullum said.

"It's up to the individual ... some guys bat without a helmet at times."

NSW captain Moises Henriques agreed with Rogers that the neck guard should be mandatory.

But Henriques suggested the design needs refining as it could affect players' ability to get out of the way of a bouncer.

"For a lot of players (the shield) is still touching your neck, so it's quite uncomfortable to wear," Henriques said.

"I think it should be compulsory but not until they have better technology than what it is at the moment.

"The more protection the better but for some players it might be hindering their ability to get out of the way of the ball."

Rogers' comments were also met with a mixed response from Brad Haddin who said sufficient changes had been made in the wake of Hughes' death.

"I think Cricket Australia have gone over and beyond to do everything they possibly can in this space so something like this freak accident doesn't happen again," Haddin told Sky Sports Radio.

"We've worked tirelessly on the helmets, they've all got to be passed by a certain standard now so I think in this space we're all doing a great deal to make the game better and hopefully we don't see another incident like this again."

Haddin, who was wicketkeeper at the time Hughes was struck, believes more players would wear the new helmets once they got used to it.

"I've tried it, I think it's just one of those things where it's something new and it takes a long time to get used to.

"A lot of the young guys coming through are all wearing it. I think over the next 12 to 18 months most cricketers will have them on."

A Cricket Australia spokesperson said changes to the British standard helmet had become mandatory in Australian domestic cricket on October 1, but use of the clip-on was up to each player's discretion.


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Source: AAP



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