New Zealand cricket - (Source: AFP)
Player safety has become a crucial part of today’s cricket. Gone are those days when batters were allowed to bat without a helmet. In the last three decades, every piece of cricketing equipment has undergone major transformation and evolution to uplift the standards of players' safety. However, one guard that still remains to be ignored is the abdominal guards.
A player getting hit on the box is often shrugged off with a few laughs, and the seriousness of the impact is ignored. Since the 1970s, the same box is used and there is no invention. However, in the latest events, several start-ups have taken up this issue, and some exciting work is being done to protect men’s sensitive organ.
Recently, Tilak Varma too hogged the headlines after he was diagnosed with testicular torsion. The injury was not on-field, but it certainly rasied a debate about the boxes.
New Zealand Cricketers come up with innovative abdominal guards
In the latest events, New Zealand legend Kane Williamson launched his company, Cover, which builds a non-breakable box and are terming the product as next-gen. Cover's box features shock-absorbing foam, its most distinctive feature is its firmness.
Also Read: Washington Sundar’s Rise as a Middle-Order Batter Gave GT a New Dimension in IPL 2026
it is made primarily from an aluminium alloy designed to be as robust as possible, avoiding the cracking that Williamson experienced. "It is metal composite," Grant Elliott, Williamson's former New Zealand team-mate, and now Cover's commercial lead, says. "It is resilient, and it's tough."
On the other hand, Mitchell Santner’s younger brother Eliot and Otago's Ruben Clinton has founded TruGuard. TruGuard is made from plastic, but uses a "gyroid lattice" structure - "You could visualise it like a honeycomb," Santner says - to absorb the shock of impact across a wide surface area.
New Zealand Players To Clash Off-Field
Now, both products are gaining traction and is already used by a lot of professional cricketers. However, the real test comes on June 4 when New Zealand will lock horns against England for the first of three matches at Lord’s.
There, the two New Zealand cricketers will clash off the field because the current New Zealand cricketers will wear both companies' products, and it is a real test which one comes out as the best, because England bowlers will definitely target the Kiwi boxes.
Kane Williamson’s Cover Makes Debut In IPL
For IPL 2026, Kane Williamson served as the advisor for Lucknow Super Giants. The Kiwi star took his brand there and asked the players to use it. The product got an intanst admirer after Mitchell Marsh was hit on the box brutally during one of LSG’s matches.
However, the Australia opener was unfazed by the blow and even gave a thumbs up to Williamson in the dug-out, signalling that his product is great.
Also Read: Wanindu Hasaranga, Kusal Mendis Retained As Sri Lanka Central Contracts List Announced
