Cricket Australia will implement new rules starting from October 1, requiring all Australian players playing in international and domestic cricket to wear neck guards. Failure to comply with these rules could result in sanctions. These changes, applicable for the 2023-24 season, mandate that all batters in Cricket Australia-sanctioned competitions must wear neck protectors affixed to the rear of their batting helmets when facing fast or medium pace bowlers.
Notably, this requirement will affect several prominent Australian batters, such as David Warner, Steve Smith, and Usman Khawaja, who currently do not use such neck guards when batting. Cricket Australia will enforce the use of neck protection during international training and matches through amendments to its clothing and equipment regulations.
Among the present members of the Australian white-ball squad in South Africa, Warner, Tim David, and Josh Inglis are the batters who have not been using neck guards. Cricket Australia had been advising the use of these neck guards since they were introduced following the tragic incident involving Phillip Hughes.
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However, some experienced players have been hesitant to adopt them. For instance, Smith, who did not wear a neck guard when he was hit by Jofra Archer during the 2019 Ashes at Lord’s, said that back in that year, the protectors made him feel “claustrophobic.”
The revision to these regulations follows closely on the heels of an incident involving star allrounder Cameron Green. He was hit by a Kagiso Rabada bouncer on the neck guard attached to his Gray Nicolls helmet, which resulted in him being substituted out of the first ODI against South Africa due to concussion.
This mandatory requirement is just one of 12 modifications to the playing conditions for the upcoming summer. Another notable change includes the elimination of the automatic six runs awarded to batters for hitting the Marvel Stadium roof in KFC BBL matches. Instead, umpires will have the discretion to determine whether the ball was going to clear the boundary or not.
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