Safety guidance on the wearing of helmets by young players

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued new safety guidance on the wearing of cricket helmets by young players.

• It is recommended that a helmet is worn by young players when batting and when standing up to the stumps when keeping wicket against a hard cricket ball in matches and in practice.
  
• A young player should not be allowed to bat or to stand up to the stumps when keeping wicket without a helmet against a hard ball except with written parental consent. Coaches, teachers, managers and umpires should always ensure that a young player wears a helmet if this written parental consent has not been received.
  
• Players should regard a helmet with a faceguard as a normal item of protective equipment when batting against a hard ball, together with pads, gloves and, for boys, an abdominal protector (box).
  
• There is a British Standard (BS7928:1998) for cricket helmets and it is in the best interests of players to ensure that their helmet conforms to this standard.

The ECB is recommending that this guidance is followed by all players up to the age of 18. It applies to young players in adult cricket as well as to all junior cricket played with a hard cricket ball.

The ECB is requesting that the new guidance is communicated to the parents or guardians of all young players through clubs and schools, and that parental consent is always obtained before young players are allowed to bat or stand up to the stumps when keeping wicket against a hard ball without wearing a helmet.

The ECB has also extended the existing regulations covering the minimum fielding distances for young players in all matches where a hard ball is used.

• No young player in the Under 15 age group or younger shall be allowed to field closer than 8 yards (7.3 metres) from the middle stump, except behind the wicket on the off side, until the batsman has played at the ball.
  
• For players in the Under 13 age group and below the distance is 11 yards (10 metres).
  
• These minimum distances apply even if the player is wearing a helmet.
  
• Should a young player in these age groups come within the restricted distance the umpire must stop the game immediately and instruct the fielder to move back.
  
• In addition any young player in the Under 16 to Under 18 age groups, who has not reached the age of 18, must wear a helmet and, for boys, an abdominal protector (box) when fielding within 6 yards (5.5 metres) of the bat, except behind the wicket on the off side. Players should wear appropriate protective equipment whenever they are fielding in a position where they feel at risk.
  
• These fielding regulations are applicable to all cricket in England and Wales. Age groups are based on the age of the player at midnight on 31st August in the year preceding the current season.
  

Frequently asked questions

Is this guidance or a Directive?
This is new safety guidance issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board as the Governing Body for Cricket, and any individual taking responsibility for a young player should ensure that the guidance is followed at all times. The Children Act imposes a duty of care on those taking responsibility for young people (up to the time when they are legally classed as adults, on their 18th birthday), and if a young player receives a head injury in a situation where the guidance had not been followed, there is a material risk that the person responsible for the player at the time the injury was sustained would be potentially liable for damages for negligence. In order to establish negligence it would be necessary to show:

(a) that a person owes the cricketer a duty of care
(b) that the person acted in breach of that duty of care; and
(c) that the cricketer suffered loss or damage as a result of that breach.

It will normally be possible to identify who was responsible for the safety of the player at the time the injury was sustained.

Why could the introduction of the new guidance not be delayed?
This question was discussed at great length during the formulation of the new guidance. We concluded that, as new guidance was required, it would not be in the interests of either the young players or of the volunteers who work with them to delay the introduction of a safer environment, and that once the new guidance had been agreed by the ECB a court would conclude that it was effectively in operation regardless of any specified implementation date. It was also concluded that the guidance must apply to all situations in which a hard ball is used, and could not exclude, for example, younger players.

Why is there a need for new guidance?
It is important to stress that this new safety guidance has not been introduced in response to any significant increase in injuries to young players. The ECB conducted a survey of all Local Education Authorities (over 70 responded) asking about head injuries, and although there had been no fatalities and only a limited number of serious injuries it was clear that it would not be possible to argue in a court of law that there was no foreseeable risk of injury when a hard ball is being used. The headline in the Daily Mail in February – “School sued over fast ball that shattered pupil’s face” - sadly indicates the risks that exist.

The previous safety guidance put helmets in the same category as thigh pads and arm guards as “additional protective equipment”. The new guidance establishes that a helmet with a faceguard should be regarded as a normal item of protective equipment when batting against a hard ball, together with pads, gloves and, for boys, an abdominal protector.

What activities are covered?
The guidance applies to matches and net practice sessions where a hard cricket ball is used, and covers both indoor and outdoor activities. The Guidance Paper states that “Coaches should use their judgement in deciding whether or not coaching and warm-up drills, as opposed to net or middle practice, require the wearing of helmets” and this applies to knocking up before a match. Clubs and schools will need to establish their policy on unsupervised activity. As a general principle it is recommended that clubs specify the timing of their practice sessions and remind parents that they are responsible for the safety of their child except during these specified times. Clubs will need to consider whether or not to allow use of their net facilities outside the specified times.

Will clubs and leagues be granted financial help towards the costs of providing helmets?
Clubs affiliated to the ECB have recently been sent a pack of booklets entitled ‘Developing your club’, which contains a new version of the “Sources of Grant Aid” booklet, and details of grants that may be available under the ‘Awards for All’ programme (the minimum grant is £500, so a joint application by a league on behalf of its clubs may be a possible option). Cricket Development Officers can provide additional guidance in this area.

As part of their agreement securing the rights to coverage of home international matches for the next five years BBC Radio is to support the wider provision of cricket helmets for young players. The details of the way this support will be made available and the timing of the support are currently being finalised and an announcement will be made as soon as possible.

The cost of providing say 3 helmets for communal use by a squad is currently likely to be around £100. If it is possible to spread this cost over a squad of say 20 players it becomes more affordable, although it is recognised that this will not always be possible.

Will schools be granted financial help towards the costs of providing helmets?
Again, the agreement with BBC Radio may in the future provide support and further details will be published as soon as possible. Schools may want to investigate the availability of budgets allocated to the provision of safety equipment rather than regard a helmet as an item of PE equipment.

What are the implications of using communal helmets?
There will certainly be parents who do not wish their child to wear a communal helmet. The manufacturers of helmets have stated that their helmets are not affected by head lice sprays and treatments, and hygienic wipes are available to clean the helmets after use. Some manufacturers supply washable headbands, and some players wear a bandanna or a baseball cap (the wrong way round). Communal helmets need to be regularly checked to ensure that they have not been damaged.

Who will be informed of the new guidance?
The ECB will be writing to all clubs that are affiliated to the ECB, and will circulate details to all senior and junior leagues on the ECB database. County Boards and CDOs will be encouraged to contact any non-affiliated clubs and leagues within their county if they have details of them. The guidance will be circulated by the bodies represented on the ECB Schools, Junior and Youth Group (Head Masters Conference Schools, the English Schools Cricket Association and the Independent Association of Preparatory Schools) and to all Local Education Authorities. The ECB Cricket Coaches Manual will be updated and replacement pages sent to all secondary schools.

The coaches on the ECB Coach Education database will be sent the information, as will members of the Association of Cricket Coaches and the Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers. The new guidance has already been referred to in various press articles and radio and television broadcasts.

What is the advice of the Association of Cricket Coaches?
The ACC participated in the special conference on helmets arranged by the ECB and is fully supportive of the new guidance.

What do insurance companies advise?
As stated in the guidance paper, the ECB strongly recommends that all those involved with young players ensure that they have appropriate insurance cover. There is currently no information available regarding possible reductions in insurance premiums for those clubs requiring that all young players wear helmets.

The ECB Extracover Insurance Scheme, which is underwritten by Cornhill, has issued the following statement to clubs:

“The Liability section of the ECB Extracover Scheme provides cover for the LEGAL LIABILITY of the Cricket Club for accidents resulting in :-

Bodily injury (including death, disease, illness or shock) to any person and

Loss of or damage to property, not being property belonging to or under the control of the Club (excluding the first £50 of such damage).

All Clubs have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure that injury or damage does not occur. If, by their actions or omissions, injury, loss or damage occurs and negligence is proven, the Club becomes legally liable to pay compensation. It is for legal process to establish whether or not liability exists and to ascertain the appropriate award of damages. The insurance policy provides cover for this legal liability up to £5M for any one occurrence. It also pays legal costs and expenses incurred with the insurers consent for defence and representation.

Insurance is not subject to any specific requirement or exclusion regarding the use of any protective clothing or equipment. In the event of an injury claim, a court would take into account all factors relevant to a particular accident. Safety guidelines or recommendations would probably influence a decision on liability in certain circumstances. The insurance policy pays once liability is decided.”

Are there any specifications regarding the type of ball being used?
The guidance applies whenever a hard cricket ball is being used. This includes the hard balls used in indoor cricket and the red and white ‘coaching’ balls. Coaches, managers and teachers will know whether the ball in use is ‘hard’, and if they are in doubt they should insist that helmets are worn.
It is not intended that the guidance should apply when Kwik cricket balls, tennis balls, windballs and similar softer balls are being used. In addition the balls that will be used for the new ECB Development Game being launched in March 2000, which are rubberised with a stitched seam, similar to the Easton ‘IncrediBall’, the Gray-Nicolls ‘Wonderball’ and similar products from other manufacturers, do not require the use of helmets.

Will sufficient helmets be available?
There are currently eight manufacturers who have or will have CE Certification and they are hopeful that they can meet the demand, although it is possible that there will be some temporary shortages. It should be remembered that an increasing number of young players have been using helmets in recent years, or have purchased them without necessarily using them all the time. Clubs and schools have also been acquiring helmets since they became more generally available.

The Guidance Paper recommends that clubs and schools seek parental consent in order to allow cricket to be played even if temporary supply shortages mean that insufficient helmets are available at the start of the 2000 season.

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