Should Umpires wear Helmets or Protection?

[Punk_Sk8r]

Well he did look pretty old. And that fielder must have very bad aim. I don't think helmets are necessary as said before; freak accident.

 

[Kev]

I've seen umpires knocked to their feet at first class matches (pretty sure I saw an international umpire knocked down on TV too), just like I have seen fielders knocked over. Personally I wouldn't think it should be required to wear a helmet, but probably in these days of health and safety it would be wise for protection to be available to the umpires should they wish to wear it.

 

[Cricketdude]

:

Yeah ok.

lol I didn't make myself clear. He got hit in the head and because he was 72 he died.

 

[angryangy]

lol I didn't make myself clear. He got hit in the head and because he was 72 he died.

History points to quite a number of healthy young cricketers who have been killed by a cricket ball. Zimbabwe's Mark Vermeulen would also advocate that helmets are no substitute for simply avoiding the ball, having suffered two skull fractures in his career.

Being able to avoid the ball is usually what keeps an umpire safe. They normally stand a fair distance from the action, giving them sufficient time to move their head six inches if the ball is airborne. True, an older person might have both slowed reactions and less flexible limbs, making it more likely that they get hit by the ball. Nevertheless, it is routinely proven that a surprising bounce can undo even the best batsmen in the world, even when they're expecting the ball!

Run out chances are probably the biggest risk for an umpire, because if the ball hits the stumps as intended, it could ricochet off in any direction. In the event that the ball moves in the absolute worst direction, it most certainly wouldn't discriminate between young and old.

When you look at the medieval suit of armour that some batsmen wear, it's a fair question to ask whether umpires should be protected. However, batsmen are likely to get hit by the ball almost every time they bat, while an umpire isn't likely to be hit in spite of spending the whole time on the field.

It's been 10 years since the last cricket related death and that wasn't even an umpire. The risk to umpires is incredibly low. If they need helmets, then they probably need lightning rods as well.

 

[Cricketdude]

Look, If you punch someone and the person that's getting punched is 72 their more likely to die than someone who is 26.

 

[McLOVIN]

keep the umpries out side of the ground, with 10 TVs in front of him, viewing all different corners off the field. give him a microphone and a gun.

yell out the NO or WIDE balls with the microphone. or press those lil buttons to give out, and show em on the big screen (like 3rd umpries)

and if the players starts fighting, use the gun! shot em up the a$$

 

[Params7]

*imagines Umpire in helmet*

LOL

 

[jordox]

Umpires don't need helmets.

The accident was completely isolated and nothing like this has happened in years. If umpires must wear helmets, I guess the fielders do too.

 

[Leicester Fox]

If they wanted one then I think they should be allowed one but not really no. Otherwise you might as well just put up a bulletproof glass pannel behind the stumps. Might stop Malinga from bowling though.

 

[Raj_Aryan]

make it optional , or design a very padded hat/cap which will at least soften the blow

Yes,make it optional or some specially designed cap/hat,good idea,because in a T20 game,batsman are playing new strokes,or hitting very hard,then why not?

 

[aussie1st]

If they want it for protection then we shouldn't stop them from wearing helmets. Most will be happy with the current method of avoiding the ball and I don't think they would want a helmet on all day for 5 days especially in places like India.

 

[ali_ed2001]

make it optional , or design a very padded hat/cap which will at least soften the blow

I like this idea of making it optional.

 

[khalek]

Very sad incident that was but I think umpires should wear the helmets in case someone like Chris Gayle or MSD are batting but then they will have to change their attires to something funkier to go with it.

 

[Jakester1288]

No. Talk about an overreaction. A freak accident like this shouldn't mean for a massive change. It would muffle the hearing, it would definitely make the umpiring worse. At the moment the umpiring is bad at times, don't need to make it worse.

 

[AbhishekS]

TBH, i do not think that umpires need to wear helmets.
That kind of incident is very rare, and there are very few chances of it occurring again.