Helmet (cricket)

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In the sport of cricket batsmen often wear a helmet to protect themselves from injury by the cricket ball, which is very hard and is bowled to them at speeds around ninety miles an hour. Graham Yallop of Australia was the first to wear a protective helmet to a test match on 17 March, 1978 when playing against West Indies at Bridgetown. Later Dennis Amiss of England popularized it in Test cricket. Helmets began to be widely worn there after. Nowadays it is almost unheard of for a professional cricketer to face a fast bowler without a helmet, and in school cricket they are often compulsory. Cricket helmets cover the whole of the skull, and have a grill or perspex visor to protect the face.

Fielders who are positioned very close to the batsman while a spinner is bowling also sometimes wear a helmet.