The right boots and shoes are essential for any pitch-based sport, especially cricket or football. But can you use one set of boots for both sports?
Can You Use Football Boots For Cricket?
Staying stable on the pitch is vital in any sport, no matter what game you’re playing.
From football, to rugby, to cricket, making sure that you get the traction you need is essential, whether you’re batting and fielding, or taking a free kick or penalties.
And, as any good sport should, this leads to the equipment being tailored for each sport. Footwear is always a priority, with studded shoes for better traction appearing in both cricket and football.
With both shoes looking similar to each other to newcomers, you may be tempted to simply buy one pair, and use them for both games.
However, as we’ll show in this guide, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Can Football Boots Be Used For Cricket?
So, let’s get the main question out of the way first: Can you use football shoes for playing cricket, and vice versa?
Well, the simple and short answer is no, you can’t.
Cricket and football are two very different sports that have very different requirements. Because of this, they’re built to very different specifications when it comes to grip, comfort, and padding/protection, This can make them uncomfortable to use in the other sport, maybe even dangerous.
Cricket Shoes Vs. Football Boots – What Are The Differences?
So, we’ve made it pretty clear that you can’t use football and cricket shoes interchangeably. If that’s all you need to know, then you have your answer.
However, if you want to know why exactly, keep reading!
The most important difference comes in the form of a sport boot's favourite piece of traction gear; the boot's studs.
The Importance Of Studs
Studs are an essential part of pretty much every sporting kit out there. But they can be built very differently, depending on the kind of game they’re built for.
Cricket studded shoes (and to a lesser extent baseball shoes too) are built for giving players traction on a field, but can also be used on flat bowling greens. This means studs (or cleats) that are narrow that provide grip and also don't disturb the pitch as much.
By contrast, football shoes are made to allow players to run and change direction quickly across a football pitch, and require much more traction. This results in either long, stiff rubber studs or metal studs that pierce the topsoil of a pitch.
This might seem like a small detail, but it has massive consequences for the rest of the game.
Pitch Types
Generally speaking, both cricket and football pitches tend to be made from natural grasses, hence why both cricket and football shoes are studded. It's one of the reasons why people ask this question in the first place.
However, there is a much wider variety of terrains that you’ll see in cricket than in football, especially when it comes to synthetic terrain.
Cricket pitches are much smaller than football pitches, on the whole. Not only does this affect gameplay, but also the cost of maintaining and making the pitch.
It’s also made artificial pitches a very tempting option for cricket clubs and sporting organisations, with their low upkeep and durable surfaces.
As you can imagine, this impacts traction on a pitch quite a lot, with artificial turf being a much grippier surface than plain old grass. Studs that are great on grass might be unnecessary on an artificial pitch, maybe even damaging.
It’s why now, you can often find cricket shoes that have detachable studs.
This is simply not an option for football. Even the most ‘artificial’ of football pitches will usually have around 90% natural grass, which gives them a less grippy surface. Great for running over and not getting stuck, but also a lot easier to slip on. Hence, why football boot studs are so big.
Contact
It’s also important to remember the context that each sport is in, to understand why these different studs make cross-play impossible.
Cricket, despite the risk of injury, is a non-contact sport. Players, even if they are sprinting after batting or fielding, are not supposed to be running into each other. As such, the chances of stepping on another player, whether it’s their foot or leg, shouldn't be happening, and are made for long-term comfort and support.
However, in a scenario where you might accidentally run into another (say, if the batter gets the ball along the slip), the smaller studs are a blessing for your fellow fielder. Sure, nobody enjoys having their foot stepped on, but it's likely not going to be a long-term injury!
By contrast, football (despite what some matches might look like) is a contact sport.
Players have to contact others if they’re trying to get possession of the ball. This includes shoves and tackles that can easily mean a player stepping on another’s foot or other body part.
For shoes, this means having plenty of protection and padding to cushion the worst of the injuries that you can get from being stepped on with a studded boot.
Now, let's go back to that last scenario: You’re playing a cricket game in football shoes (the umpires are strangely absent for this scenario, but roll with us here). The opposing batter has just hit their shot out far, and you and another fielder are hot on it’s tail.
And, in the heat of the moment, you step on your teammate's foot with your full weight. Their softer, less protected shoes take the full brunt of a metal-studded boot.
Yeah, ouch.
Needless to say, that’s a recipe for disaster, and plenty of reason enough to avoid wearing football shoes on a cricket pitch.
And we haven’t even touched on how cricket shoes can’t handle kicking footballs, or the intense movement involved in a football match!
Final Thoughts
So, after going through our guide, the answer to the question at the top of this piece should be pretty clear:
Don’t wear football shoes in a cricket game, and make sure you’re using the proper equipment for the proper sport!
Related guides
Best adidas Football Kits by Colour
Summer 2020 Match Kit Guide: adidas
