England captain Alastair Cook struggles at crease for Essex wearing new approved helmet
Thursday 21 April 2016 10:46, UK
Alastair Cook lasted five balls for Essex wearing the new approved helmet after complying with new safety regulations on Monday.
Cook scored 105 and 35 not out in Essex's 10-wicket win over Gloucestershire in their opening County Championship Division Two match last week, only to be spoken to by the England and Wales Cricket Board for wearing old-style headgear.
New helmets, which comply to British Safety Standards and have a smaller gap between the peak and grille, were introduced in the winter after a number of high-profile injuries, including to Stuart Broad and Craig Kieswetter.
On Monday, Warwickshire's Jonathan Trott continued to stick with the old helmet and scored an unbeaten 62 against Middlesex at Lord's, but Cook did not have such a good day after switching his headgear.
With Sussex making 360 in their first innings at Hove, Essex's run chase got off to a poor start with Cook nibbling outside off stump from the bowling of Steve Magoffin and thick-edged the ball to Chris Nash at second slip.
The new rules brought in by the ECB also state that international and county batsmen wear a helmet at all times, even when facing the spinners. Wicketkeepers also need to wear the new headgear standing up to the wicket, as do close fielders.
Former England skipper and Sky Sports cricket pundit Nasser Hussain has sympathy for Cook and feels it is unfair to dictate what headgear a batsman should use.
Hussain told the Daily Mail: "The fact he nicked off to Steve Magoffin may have had nothing to do with the new lid but he would have gone to bed thinking if he had been wearing his old helmet he would have been able to see the ball better.
"The last thing a batsman wants is any doubts over their equipment and, however trivial it may seem to move the grille up a few centimetres, I can assure you it makes a huge difference.
"Cook is a sensible man who knows his responsibilities to the wider game. I would rather have the England captain confident and comfortable. He has earned the right to make his own choices."
Players cannot be banned from playing in non-compliant headgear but could find themselves reported to the ECB's disciplinary committee and face possible sanctions.
If Cook had continued to use the old-style Gray-Nicholls helmet, both county and Test umpires could have asked him to leave the field.
The 31-year-old has been made available for Essex's first four County Championship matches and is due to lead the England team out again in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley on May 19.
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