About buying Womens cricket equipment

Whilst apart from clothing there are very few Women's specific equipment items in the market place, we believe it is important that we recognise the specific equipment needs of female cricketers that differ from standard equipment and that importantly aid the correct development and technique. We hope that the advice below helps, pulled together with the help of England Cricketer and OptiMax ambassador Sarah Glenn.

Cricket Bats ... the most important point to make here relates to bat weight, followed by bat length, which isvery important for the generally slighter built female cricketers. Our bat size guide page linked here is a great starting place to narrow down the correct size and weight. Some manufacturers like Gray-Nicolls and Kookaburra have introduced "Lite" models into their ranges, starting at 2'6 oz and a relatively new size sometimes called Small, Gem or Academy which sits in between the largest junior size of Harrow and Full Size Short handle (SH). It is vital to aid technique and that your bat is not too heavy.

Batting Pads ...can be quite difficult to choose the correct fit as under new industry wide safety standards introduced in 2021 means that manufacturers now have to put greater emphasis on safety and protection in their batting and wicket keeping pad specification ahead of slimmer / narrower fits. The one thing that has changed over the last couple of seasons is the general size naming of sizing. For example Mens is now classed as Adults and Boys as Junior to add greater uniformity in helping to select the correct size equipment for all genders. We have introduced a selection of Small Adult size pads to our range offering that we believe will help female cricketers with a size that fits between Youths and Adults. Our size guide page linked here is a great reference point showing the important instep to knee length measurements and the relevant size classification.

Batting Gloves ... like batting pads it can be quite difficult to choose as under new safety standards introduced in 2021 means that manufacturers now have to put greater emphasis on safety and protection in their batting and wicket keeping gloves specification ahead of narrower fits. The one thing that has changed over the last couple of seasons again is the general size naming of sizing. For example Mens is now classed as Adults and Boys as Junior to add greater uniformity in helping to select the correct size equipment. We have introduced a selection of Small Adult size gloves that we believe will help female cricketers with a size that fits between Youths and Adults. Our size guide page linked here is a great reference point showing the important instep wrist to longest finger length measurements.

Wicket Keeping ... using the batting pads and gloves size guide pages should assist in selecting the correct size for wicket keeping equipment, please remember to allow for the wearing of sometimes thicker inner gloves when choosing your wicket keeping gloves size.

Regarding shoes and helmets we have pulled together a detailed by brand size guide for these for those brands that we stock. These categories are generally good for all cricketers and following the relevant size guide should help ensure you select the correct size shoes and helmet.

Body Protection ... again apart from the abdo guard (box) where we do stock a female specific guard this product category generally suits all cricketers. Female cricketers with slighter arms and thighs will find the Youths size generally more suitable that Adult size. For all in one lower body protection like AERO Strippers the critical measurement is from hip to knee.