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This page explains what the Laws of Cricket, governing bodies and standards bodies publish. It is not a substitute for coaching from a qualified coach, and it does not replace medical advice.
What helmets are for
The bodies do not present helmets as concussion prevention. The ECB says head protectors mainly reduce the risk of skull and face fracture rather than concussion, and that there is no current evidence they remove concussion risk, though the risk would likely be higher without them. The ICC's helmets page says equipment cannot always prevent death or permanent disability. The NSW coroner found that the blow that killed Phillip Hughes struck an area of his neck that his helmet did not protect.
Timeline
| Date | Body | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| December 2013 | BSI | BS 7928:2013, dated December 2013, was the latest British standard for cricket helmets in November 2014 (as the NSW coroner recorded). |
| November 2014 | Australian standard | The latest Australian standard was AS/NZS 4499:1997 (as the coroner recorded). |
| 15 February 2015 | ICC | Told member boards that BS 7928:2013 would be the de facto international standard (as the coroner recorded). |
| 18 March and 18 June 2015 | Australian standard | AS/NZS 4499:1997 withdrawn, then declared obsolete, with no plan then for a replacement (as the coroner recorded). |
| October 2015 | Cricket Australia | Required players representing CA, or states and territories in CA competitions, to wear BS 7928:2013 helmets (as the coroner recorded). |
| 11 May 2016 | Cricket Australia | After the Curtain review, Reuters reported compulsory helmets to the highest British standard for batters facing fast and medium pace and for keepers and close fielders in first-class matches, in games and practice. |
| 24 August 2016 | ECB and PCA | Guidance that all cricketers under 18 must wear a head protector when batting in matches or practice, and a head protector with a faceguard, or a wicketkeeper face protector, when keeping wicket standing up; no parental consent to not wearing one should be accepted. It named BS 7928:2013. |
| 2016-17 season | Cricket Australia | Sheffield Shield playing conditions required a BS 7928:2013 helmet for batters facing fast or medium pace (as the coroner recorded). |
| 1 January 2017 | ICC | BS 7928:2013 required for helmets worn while batting in international cricket under the ICC Clothing and Equipment Regulations (ICC news, 30 January 2018). |
| 30 June 2019 | BSI | BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 published; BSI lists it as the current edition. |
| 2019-20 season | Cricket Australia | BS 7928:2013 helmets required when batting, keeping up to the stumps and fielding close in CA, state and pathway competitions, and strongly recommended in community cricket. |
| 2021 season | ECB | Playing conditions for all ECB competitions stopped a dislodged helmet or neck guard from causing a hit-wicket dismissal; the ECB cited player safety and encouraging stem-guard use (ESPNcricinfo, 31 March 2021). |
| 2022 | ECB | Head Protector Regulations 2022: in the matches they cover (including England teams, first-class county competitions, the women's regional competitions, second XI competitions, county and regional academy matches and The Hundred), compliant headgear was mandatory, unless the ECB agreed otherwise, when batting against all types of bowling, keeping wicket standing up, and fielding closer than 8 yards from the batter's position on a middle-stump line (except behind square on the off side). In the domestic matches covered, umpires were not to let a match continue while a player refused to wear it. |
| 1 June 2023 | ICC | Helmets mandatory in international cricket for batters facing fast bowlers, wicketkeepers standing up and fielders close to the batter in front of the wicket, from the England v Ireland Test at Lord's and at the World Test Championship final from 7 June 2023. |
| 2023-24 season | Cricket Australia | Batters in all CA-sanctioned competitions must wear a neck protector fitted to the back of the helmet against fast or medium pace. |
| January 2024 | ICC | Clothing and Equipment Regulations (effective January 2024) set the three mandatory positions and an edition for them (see below). |
| 2024-25 | NZC | Helmet Policy 2024-25 (details below). |
| 2025 season | ECB | Recreational Cricket Safety Regulations make helmets mandatory for under-18s in set hardball situations (see junior cricket rules). |
| 1 October 2026 | MCC | The 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026) of the Laws in force; Appendix A.2.3 counts faceguards, grilles and neck guards as part of the protective helmet. |
ESPNcricinfo reported that the ECB required professional cricketers to wear helmets after Hughes's death; the year that mandate began was not confirmed from an ECB document, so it is not in the timeline.
Which edition of BS 7928? The bodies disagree
BSI lists BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 as current. The ICC's helmets page says the 2019 amendment added specifications for neck protectors, while standards resellers, seen only in search-result summaries and unconfirmed, describe it as adding a facial projectile test and junior ball sizes; BSI's own page describes the standard's tests without saying which edition introduced each one. The bodies' own rule documents name editions differently:
| Body and document | Edition named |
|---|---|
| ICC Clothing and Equipment Regulations (effective January 2024) | BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 for helmets in the three mandatory positions; BS 7928:2013 for helmets worn at other times; neck protectors optional when batting |
| ICC Men's Test Playing Conditions (effective June 2025) and Men's ODI Playing Conditions (effective October 2026) | The same three mandatory positions, with all helmets certified to BS 7928:2013; neck protectors optional |
| ICC helmets web page (current 2026) | Words the rule as applying if a player chooses to wear a helmet while batting, naming BS 7928:2013, and describes the 2019 update separately |
| Cricket Australia helmet page | BS 7928:2013, and BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 for helmets with neck protector specifications |
| NZC Helmet Policy 2024-25 | BS 7928:2013 only |
| ECB Recreational Cricket Safety Regulations (2025, regulation 20.3.1.2, read from the Cornwall Cricket copy) | Any helmet the regulations require (under-18s, hardball) must meet BS 7928:2013, which the regulation calls the latest standard; a neck protector is not required, but if a player chooses to wear one it must meet BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 |
| ECB Head Protector Regulations 2022 | Compliant headgear is certified to the most recent BSI specification for the size of ball used; the regulations add that, as of 1 February 2020, the latest specification was BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 for head protectors (helmet, faceguard and neck protector together), BS 7928:2013 for helmets and BS 7928-2:2009 for face masks |
| ECB Professional and Elite Academy Concussion Guidelines (current in 2026) | BS 7928:2013 |
The ICC's own documents therefore name two editions, and its web page still uses conditional wording for a rule its 2023 playing-condition change made mandatory. All of the versions fit the 2019 edition being the 2013 standard plus an amendment, but each body words it differently, and the body's current document governs its own cricket.
Positions: the bodies set different scopes
- ICC (from 1 June 2023): batters facing fast bowlers, wicketkeepers standing up, and fielders close to the batter in front of the wicket.
- Cricket Australia (from 2019-20, CA, state and pathway competitions): batting, keeping up to the stumps and fielding close to the batter.
- NZC (2024-25 policy): for its international and Major Association domestic players, a helmet is mandatory when batting against fast or medium pace, keeping up to the stumps or fielding within 7 metres of the stumps (excluding behind the wicket on the off side), and strongly recommended against spin. In community cricket, helmets with a face guard are mandatory for hardball players under 19 when batting, keeping within 5 metres of the stumps or fielding within 7 metres, and strongly recommended for those 19 and over.
- ECB: its professional concussion guidelines say head protectors are mandated in the professional game and in age-group cricket for batting, wicketkeeping and close fielding in the riskiest situations. The ECB's Head Protector Regulations 2022 required them in the matches they covered when batting against all types of bowling, keeping wicket standing up, and fielding closer than 8 yards from the batter's position on a middle-stump line (except behind square on the off side). That batting rule is wider than the ICC's 2023 wording, which names batters facing fast bowlers; they are different bodies' rules. This is the 2022 rule: the ECB's professional concussion guidelines refer to 2023 Head Protector Regulations, and later editions are not summarised here. Its recreational rules for under-18s are on the junior page.
Neck guards
In 2016 Cricket Australia recommended neck protectors but did not require them, citing insufficient evidence, and the coroner recommended continued work towards one that could be mandated. CA now requires them for batters against fast or medium pace in all CA-sanctioned competitions from 2023-24, and strongly recommends them in community cricket. NZC's 2024-25 policy requires one for its international and Major Association domestic players against fast or medium pace, with NZC saying it would be required in Hawke Cup Challenge matches from 2025-26. The ICC's regulations make a neck protector optional when batting in international cricket.
Women's cricket
The ICC says there is no women's helmet standard. Because the women's ball sits between the men's and junior sizes, it recommends helmets tested against both balls, or at least the junior ball, since a smaller ball could pass through the gap above a faceguard tested only against the men's ball. NZC's policy requires the same of women. The ECB's Head Protector Regulations 2022 required a head protector in the women's cricket they covered to be certified against both the men's and junior sized ball. BSI says the standard does not test against a women's-size ball.
The standards themselves are explained on helmet standards, and each body's current rule is on helmet rules by body.
Sources
- NSW Coroners Court, Inquest into the death of Phillip Joel Hughes, Findings (4 November 2016)
- BSI Knowledge, BS 7928:2013+A1:2019 Specification for head protectors for cricketers
- ICC, helmets (rules and regulations page, current 2026)
- ICC news, helmets and head protectors (30 January 2018)
- ICC news, prominent change to playing conditions revealed (15 May 2023)
- ICC Clothing and Equipment Rules and Regulations (effective January 2024)
- ICC Men's ODI Playing Conditions (effective October 2026)
- ICC Men's Test Match Playing Conditions (effective June 2025)
- The Peninsula (Reuters), Australia toughens helmet standards after Hughes review (11 May 2016)
- ECB, ECB and PCA helmet guidance for young players (24 August 2016)
- Cricket Australia, helmet recommendations
- New Zealand Cricket, NZC Helmet Policy 2024-25
- ECB, Head Protector Regulations 2022
- ECB Recreational Cricket Safety Regulations 2025 (reproduced in a Cornwall Cricket handbook)
- ECB, Professional and Elite Academy Concussion Guidelines (current on the ECB site in 2026)
- ESPNcricinfo, ECB step up batter protection: no hit wickets via helmet (31 March 2021)
- MCC, The Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code 4th Edition (2026)