Nasser Hussain sympathises with Alastair Cook over helmet
Wednesday 20 April 2016 19:21, UK
Nasser Hussain has sympathised with England captain Alastair Cook over his use of the new approved helmet.
Cook wore the new-style helmet in Essex's County Championship game against Sussex at Hove on Monday and lasted only five balls, scoring one run after making 105 and 35 not out in Essex's opening game of the season against Gloucestershire when he wore the old-style headgear.
The 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.
Cook was spoken to by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) after using his old helmet in last week's match at Chelmsford and, as a result, he complied with the new regulations this week.
However, former England skipper and Sky Sports cricket pundit Hussain has sympathy for Cook and feels it is unfair to dictate what headgear a batsman should use.
"I definitely have sympathy with Alastair Cook," Hussain told Sky Sports News HQ.
"The fundamentals of batting are being comfortable and being able to see the cricket ball and he has got nearly 10,000 Test match runs wearing a certain type of helmet.
"He has taken the opinion that he leaves a bit of a gap there - and maybe the ball can get through and maybe it can't - but he wants to see the ball properly. And then, all of a sudden, the regulations and the new helmet has moved that little grille up - maybe a couple of centimetres - and he can't see the ball as well.
"He's a grown man and I feel he should be able to make the decision himself.
"He's given the other [helmet] a go, he's not been stubborn, he's not saying 'no this is nothing to do with me', he's given it a go and he's not finding it comfortable.
"He'll go out to bat at Hove (today) probably with the new helmet on and give it a go, but when he rocks up at Headingley for the first Test against Sri Lanka I think most England fans will want their captain, their opening batsman and their star batsman to be able to see the ball and be comfortable and not have any kind of doubts about his equipment."
Despite his support for Cook, Hussain has backed the ECB and its director of cricket Andrew Strauss over the introduction of the new regulations.
"I do applaud what Strauss and the ECB are doing," he said. "For a long time people haven't looked at helmets and the actual safety of helmets and there have been some high-profile incidents that have happened recently and it has to be looked into.
"But you do have to say that there has to be a little bit of a personal choice to every batsman to be able to make that decision."
