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Cricket Equipment: Of Bats, Bowlers, and Beamers - 07/05/2009

If you don't know who Kevin Pietersen is, don't be discouraged. Cricket fans quickly identify with the South-African born premier batsman who set the fastest marks for reaching 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 runs respectively in the International Cricket Council (ICC) system. Yet, the most visible star on the English cricket circuit goes virtually unnoticed in certain social circles.

Likewise, it would not be surprising if you didn't know that Shoaib Akhtar is a wicked bowler who strikes fear into the hearts of batsmen who continually face his painfully-famous deliveries. The 33-year old native of Pakistan became the first to hurl a cricket ball at a speed of 100 mph, and his domination of the pitch ' the area where deliveries are made and wickets won ' is well-respected.

England's love of cricket dates back 500 years, and the historic Oval leased by the Duchy of Cornwall has hosted Test matches for almost 130 years. The ICC, which is the sport's main governing body, currently has members from 104 countries. How is it possible then that the world's sporting communities know so little about the sport and cricket equipment?

With smaller quantities of international fans than those devoted to football, baseball, and basketball, it is not difficult to see why most people don't know a cricket bat from a rowing oar or a wicket from a whiskbroom. The range of cricket equipment necessary for play is not diverse, but learning the lingo is a challenge for an English-speaking world with little understanding on English games. Protective gear for cricket batsmen and wicket keepers, who regularly face 90 mph balls purposely thrown with less control than those in baseball, is essential. Gloves, helmets, and protective pads that shield the arms, legs, and chest provide a barrier for vital body parts that may come into contact with a beamer or a bouncer at maximum velocity.

Many of sports' most popular brand names now manufacture cricket equipment and supplies ' names like Puma, Adidas, Reebok, Nike, and Slazenger. Adidas has recently entered the arena as a supplier of cricket bats with fancy model names like Libro, Pellara, and Incurza. The fact that these bats aren't made by Adidas themselves gives some players little confidence that their interest in the game is little more than an opportunistic campaign for additional revenues.

These days, it's as much about what you're wearing on the field as what you use to bring home the runs. Colorful lines of shirts, pants, shoes, and hats have given cricket teams the type of identity enjoyed by other sports for years. This trend is in direct contrast to the standard whites frequently worn by the English in match play.

In this way, modern uniforms and cricket equipment bear little resemblance to those worn and used by early pioneers like William Clarke, Wilfred Rhodes, and Donald Bradman. Corporate sponsorship, as in most other national and international sports, has infiltrated the world of cricket as a necessary evil, as clubs and arenas search for solvency against rising costs.

The fervor over modern matches has recently inspired at least one terrorist attack and a level of violence comparable to the worst of rugby and Australian football matches. The sport may not have changed much in 500 years, but the difference between today's cricket fan and those of centuries past is that the cricket equipment and apparel one wears on and off the field readily identifies your allegiances and opponents.