Like any other sport, cricket has hazards that can impact safe & fair play. This guide breaks down those risks, and what can be done to solve them.

Hazards In Cricket

Cricket, like any other sport, comes with its fair share of dangers to players. A lot of that will come down to players taking risky moves, overstretching themselves, or taking blows to the body from wayward shots.

However, there is another dangerous aspect to cricket, and that’s the outside hazards. These are the problems that you can’t prevent with proper warm-ups or a visit to a physiotherapist. Often, these are factors that are either out of your control or are otherwise difficult to spot or stop.

Since we’ve covered the player-injury side of this topic already here, think of this guide as the second half of that piece. We’ll cover all the major hazards that you should be aware of when on the cricket pitch, and what steps, if any, you can do to prevent them.

Environmental Hazards

Starting us off on this hazard-heavy cautionary guide, the environment is probably one of the trickiest aspects of risk and hazard assessment. Managing the locale and conditions that a cricket match is held in can be a logistical nightmare. Especially if you don’t know what you’re preparing for.

Heat-Related Issues

This is a danger that all outdoor sports face, but cricket players are particularly susceptible to it.

Any sport that takes place outside will have to contend with being under constant heat and sunlight. For cricket players, whose matches can last anywhere from three and a half hours, all the way up to eight or even nine, this is doubly the case.

Being exposed to the sun without proper care runs the risk of many or all of the issues that come out of that. From burnt skin to sun strokes, to dehydration, fatigue, fainting, and even skin cancer in the worst cases. These are conditions that can seriously hamper both a player’s ability to play, and their personal life and health.

To prepare for this, making sure that all players have access to sunblock, appropriate shielding, and plenty of water is essential, both for yourself, and your wider team. At a more structural level, making sure that plenty of the cricket green is shaded is also something that many club grounds should and do invest in.

And don’t think that, just because you’re in a part of the country that has like 2 weeks of sun a year, that this doesn’t apply to your area! British summers are well-known for their high humidity, which can just as easily lead to heat strokes and fainting, without even seeing a single ray of sunshine.

Cold-related Injuries

On the flip side, most of us will know that cold weather is just as much a hazard to deal with as its hotter counterpart.

(And let’s face it: it’s the UK. Of course we’ve all been to a cold match before!)

Outside the simple threat of cold-related health conditions like hypothermia, which is no laughing matter in itself, colder conditions are actually the most common time that injuries happen.

While there isn’t a single clear reason for this, factors such as not limbering/warming up properly before a match, inappropriate outerwear and poor post-injury treatment in cold conditions probably have a hand in this.

So, make sure that you and the team are taking practical steps to avoid these issues. If possible, try and have matches in winter and early spring in sheltered pitches. Make sure that you’re wearing appropriate extra layers.

And, of course, make sure that you’re properly warming up before a match. The weather being cold when you stretch is going to be a lot less annoying than a pulled hamstring!

Ice packs may be a common way to treat injuries. But that doesn’t mean that being in the cold is good for an injured player!

Poorly-Maintained Terrain

We’ve all probably played on at least one cricket pitch that has seen better days. Sometimes, poor maintenance can turn a rough-looking pitch into a serious health hazard.

These can manifest in a few different ways. Obviously, an uneven pitch, where the ground rises or dips unexpectedly, can cause falls, sprains, tears, and plenty of other issues.

But it can manifest in less obvious issues too. For example, a pitch that has been poorly managed may cause the cricket ball to behave in unexpected ways. Bouncing too much, or moving around chaotically, are issues that can get players injured.

A pitch where a ball bounces higher than it should, and slams into the face of a fielder when they weren’t expecting it, is not a safe pitch!

Deciding whether a pitch is safe to practice or play in will fall on both referees and umpires to make the big final decision. Of course, in an ideal world, this won’t happen. Regular maintenance will do a pitch of wonders in the long term!

Wet Conditions

Anyone who’s walked on a wet surface (so, everyone) will tell you that slipping is no laughing matter. It can do anything from minor bruising to life-threatening injuries.

So, you can imagine the risk that playing on a sodden, wet pitch can have on players!

Outside that obvious issue, a pitch that is overly damp or wet can give a massive advantage to the bowling side. Batted bowls won’t bounce or roll as far, making scoring runs that much more difficult.

Once again, conditions like this, and whether they are unfair, or give advantages to one side, fall on the referee and umpires to make the call. They can either delay or completely reschedule a match if they feel it is necessary.

And, like with the last issue, a final decision on whether a pitch is too wet to be played on will fall on the referee and umpire’s shoulders. Not a lot can be done to a pitch once it has become wet, outside delaying or cancelling the match, and waiting for it to dry.

However, there are a few ways that a cricket pitch’s infrastructure can help keep a game going. Having plenty of canopy space/cover for the pitch can help keep a pitch free from rainy, wet conditions. And using artificial turf will also help get rid of the problem of muddy conditions altogether.

After all, you can’t get sodden or slippery topsoil if there’s no topsoil to get slippy!

Again, these aren’t really issues that a single player can solve. A cricket club/grounds owner will need to be the one who makes the big decision here.

Windy Conditions

While wind is not the most drastic concern that players face, there are plenty of knock-on effects that need to be taken into account by both the teams and the referees.

Mild wind conditions can actually be beneficial for cricket players. A lower wind speed can help keep players on the pitch cooler, both with a cooling breeze and by increasing the rate of sweat evaporation.

Not only that, but bowlers tend to prefer playing with a slight tailwind in their step, as it means less effort needs to be put into a bowl.

However, these positives only go so far. Extreme windy climates can just as easily make bowling a nightmare as it can make it a breeze (pun intended). And when you add in the issues of over-exposure and lower temperatures, it can quickly become a serious health hazard.

Being properly covered by your kit and a jumper can help with the cold and exposure somewhat. But once the wind becomes too disruptive, the umpire and referees will need to make the decision to pull the plug on the match, until conditions calm down.

Once again, this is an issue that will need to be addressed at a structural level. Building wind barriers can eliminate the most disruptive high winds.

Extreme Weather

All the other conditions that we have covered in this section apply when it comes to dealing with extreme weather in cricket. A sunny spell or cold snap can cause players to get many heat-related issues, and rainy weather can turn the pitch too wet to play in the blink of an eye.

Weather is a key condition that captains have to take into account at the beginning of a game, especially if they win a toss. Drier, sunnier conditions tend to favour the batter side, while damper and more humid conditions will swing that favour back to the bowling team, as we’ve already talked about.

Of course, the weather is absolutely something that cricket umpires, referees, and organisers can’t control. If conditions become too extreme in one way or another, a match will usually be stopped and delayed until the weather has cleared up. Or, if possible, covers will be put over the pitch to keep conditions stable.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it. As you can see, there are plenty of ways for players to get injured in cricket, besides poor practise and technique.

As we mentioned at the beginning, many of these aren’t the sort of challenges that you can just solve on your own, especially the environmental hazards we’ve covered. These are long-term problems that need to be managed with the club as a whole, and potentially even major cricket supports.

It’s not a one-man job keeping a cricket pitch ready for the next big game. It’s a group effort.

However, now that you know, your team can be much better prepared to deal with some of these issues, and keep playing the game we all love.

Related guides

Best adidas Football Kits by Colour

Summer 2020 Match Kit Guide: adidas