Features
Palm Lining
As the name suggests the palm lining forms the area within the wicket keeping glove that makes contact with the palm of the hand. Given that the lining is directly beneath the area that will be used most to catch the ball, and therefore subject to taking the most punishment, it is important that this inner area of the wicket keeping glove is soft and comfortable in order to avoid excessive rubbing and chaffing. A number of different materials are used to form the lining, with harder, more durable examples (cotton) at the cheaper end of wicket keeping glove ranges to softer more comfortable options (calf/sheep/kangaroo leather) towards the top end.
Palm Padding
The padding in the palm area of your wicket keeping gloves is key to providing you with maximum impact protection, limiting the force transferred through your gloves to your hands in turn providing protection from injury. The padding is also an important factor in making a successful catch, with the shock absorption characteristics helping to slow down the ball and decrease the chance of the cricket ball bouncing out of your hands. The majority of wicket keeping gloves use cotton wadding as the key shock absorbing material in their palm padding, but in order to provide additional protection at the higher ball speeds experienced by top class wicket keepers, many top of the range wicket keeping gloves feature silicone gel padding inserts.
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Finger End Caps
The ends of fingers are the most common areas for wicket keepers to incur injuries, which is why all wicket keeping gloves should feature reinforced finger end caps. The end caps are cylindrical objects, open at one end, designed to fit over the tips of your fingers and built-in to the end of all five glove fingers. Made from a rubbery material, finger end caps will absorb the worst of any glancing blows, but struggle to cope with the worst direct end-on impacts. In order to protect finger tips from the more dangerous end-on impacts, many wicket keeping gloves incorporate additional foam based padding to the end of the finger end caps. As well providing extra protection the foam padding adds an element of improved comfort and fit, preventing the finger tips from rubbing against the harder end caps. As you progress up through the wicket keeping glove ranges some brands start to introduce higher density foams to provide protection capable of coping with the potentially higher ball speeds and the associated harder impacts.
Finger Tabs
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Due to the position adopted by many wicket keepers, crouched with gloves resting on the ground, the parts of wicket keeping gloves that show the most amount of wear are the areas on the back of the gloves above the last knuckle in your fingers. To combat this wear and ensure greater durability, many brands are incorporating what they call finger tabs. Sections of hard wearing leather of synthetic materials are stitched onto the back of the wicket keeping gloves to form an extra layer of protection.
Cuffs
When standing up to the stumps or receiving balls from fielders “on the bounce” it can be awkward to judge the flight into the glove. In these cases you may either miss the ball entirely or the ball impacts the wrist area. It is for this reason that wicket keeping gloves feature heavily padded cuffs. In the case of cuffs, the padding is purely to limit the damage and is not intended to help you control or catch the ball. The material is usually limited to cheaper cotton wadding and some high density foams. In a few cases brands will incorporate stiffer material into the padding of the wicket keeping glove cuffs as a means of protecting the wrist from particularly high speed impacts. This feature usually referred to as “caned cuffs” may not actually include cane, but a synthetic plastic offering similar characteristics. Wicket keeping gloves are generally thought to fall into one of two distinct styles. The English style is considered to feature longer (10-12cm), square cut cuffs. This design is believed to favour additional protection over flexibility and removability. The alternative “Aussie” style features shorter cuffs (7-10cm). A more recent addition to Aussie-style wicket keeping gloves is cuffs featuring a more rounded profile, which is believed to provide improved flexibility and allow the wicket keeper to remove the glove for throwing at the stumps more rapidly.
Webbing
The webbing on a wicket keeping glove is an area of material joining the index finger and thumb which serves as additional surface area with which to catch the ball. Updated in 2003 following a period when some manufacturers where taking advantage of some the more ambiguous aspects of the rules, law 40.2 of the rules of cricket now states with respect to wicket keeping gloves:
They shall have no webbing between the fingers except joining index finger and thumb, where webbing may be inserted as a means of support. If used, the webbing shall be (a) a single piece of non-stretch material which, although it may have facing material attached, shall have no reinforcements or tucks. (b) such that the top edge of the webbing (i) does not protrude beyond the straight line joining the top of the index finger to the top of the thumb. (ii) is taut when a hand wearing the glove has the thumb fully extended.
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The key element that the rules changes clarified was in regard to the size webbing. Previously some wicket keeping gloves featured large pockets of material between the thumb and index finger allowing the area to be used more like a baseball mitt. Manufacturers are now looking to maximise the performance benefits of their wicket keeping gloves whilst staying firmly within the clarified rules. Some wicket keeping gloves feature what is known as a twisted thumb design. In a normal construction the thumb is often formed from the same piece of material as the rest of the gloves and protrudes at roughly right angles from the main body of the hand. A twisted thumb design sees the thumb being constructed as a separate section attached to the palm side of the glove, with the thumb tip pointing away from the palm. The twisted thumb design allows the wicket keeping gloves to more accurately mimic your hand, whereby the thumb is able to extend further away from the index finger when it is twisted away from the plane of the hand. This in turn results in the glove being able to support a greater webbed area, whilst staying within the law, leading in theory to greater catching area and associated performance benefits.
Fit
The “fit” of wicket keeping gloves around the hands and wrist can vary dramatically, from extremely loose to tight. To many this is a personal preference, but in general it would seem that higher end Aussie-style wicket keeping gloves do seem to offer a closer, more fitted cut around the wrist, which ensure the gloves stay in place, giving the wicket keeper a greater feel for the ball.
Vents
In order to maximise comfort particularly during long periods in the field in hotter conditions, many wicket keeping gloves now feature ventilated sections which aim to increase air flow, wicking away moisture and cooling hands. These cut-out areas are normally covered in a polyester mesh and found either between the fingers or on the back of the hand, areas where durability and protection are not required.
Grip
Cricket balls can take on a variety of characteristics based on their age and weather conditions. New balls are harder and more likely to jump out of your hands, damp balls are often greasy and difficult to control and cricket balls with high amounts of spin are more prone to squirm out of your grip. It is precisely with these situations in mind that wicket keeping gloves feature a sticky, rubbery outer material on the palm, fingers and thumb/finger webbing. The tackiness of the material is dependent on the specific material used, such as natural rubber, neoprene as well as a variety of other synthetic rubbers. In many cases higher end wicket keeping gloves may offer particularly soft and sticky materials on the palm, but beware these materials will offer performance benefits at the cost of durability. Another key aspect when reviewing wicket keeping gloves is the raised pattern moulded into the surface of the rubbery material. Traditionally this pattern has taken the form of pimples raised 1mm off the surface, 1mm in diameter and spaced equally 1-2mm apart. A more modern pattern that often features on many higher end wicket keeping gloves derives inspiration from octopus suckers and is often referred to simply as octopus grip and was first introduced to the cricketing arena on bat grips. The pattern features raised ring like structures 1mm high and 2mm in diameter, evenly spaces 2-3 mm apart. The octopus grip offers a dual approach to improved grip. The ring structure provides an increased surface area working directly against the movement of the ball, helping slow the ball and reduce spin. Secondly, the octopus grip, like its namesake, can, when coming into contact with a smooth surface, create small pockets of vacuum, almost sucking the ball directly into the glove.
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