Have you seen the ‘Shield’ that the Cricket umpires are sporting these days?

People who regularly follow cricket would have seen this new umpire guard. It is the latest innovation in umpire safety. Australian umpire Bruce Oxenford has become the first umpire to sport a forearm shield guard that helps him to escape from hitting balls.

Oxenford sported this new shield in an ODI between England and Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. He had also sported the shield during the IPL 2016. The left forearm was clad in the protective device, looking somewhat like a slimmed down version of a police riot shield.

New Forearm Shield:

Looked to be made of clear Perspex, the shield is strapped to Oxenford’s non-dominant signaling arm, and can be used to parry and block shots fired back in the umpire’s direction.

The issue of umpire safety was thrust into the limelight in 2014 when an official died after being struck in the head by a ball during a league match in Israel. It’s the latest innovation in the area after Australian umpire John Ward was hospitalized when he was struck in the head umpiring a match.

The shield worn by Oxenford is made from polycarbonate, weighs one kilogram and is six millimeters thick. The version used at Edgbaston is the second incarnation of the device and it was tested in the nets before being cleared for use during the match.

If a batsman struck the ball and it deflected off the shield and was subsequently caught, the batsman would be given out, in contrast to the situation for fielders wearing protective headgear. By contrast, the Laws of Cricket make it clear that if a ball hits the helmet of a fielder before being held, the batsman is not out and a dead ball is called.