The Different Types of Cricket Batting Gloves

Generally, when it comes to batting gloves there are a variety in types of cricket gloves and with modern advancements all of them have their own features making them unique and better suited for batters that prefer different types of feel and use. Hopefully in this article we can shed some light and make your life easier when grabbing your next pair of cricket batting gloves.

Finger Protection Set Up - Split vs Sausage

(Pictured: Left Sausage style glove & right split finger type glove)

When it comes to finger and hand protection in cricket batting gloves there tends to be 2 styles one if the split finger set up and the other sausage style gloves although there are some gloves that share both styes with in the same pair of gloves.

The split finger style set up for batting gloves come in is the protection on the back of the hand split into block either rectangular or in the shape of a shark tooth. The advantage of this is due to the block set up the gloves is more flexible and lighter and don't need to be worn in to mould to your hands thus making them easier to use in a game straight out of the packet. The only downside being that the split finger can be slightly less protective but not so much that the average cricketer would have their hands in danger using them.

The sausage style is when the protection on the back of the hand is one long block all the way down usually from knuckle all the way down the finger. What this helps with is added protection as they're less gaps compared to the blocks and you'll see a lot of top order batters in professional cricket use the sausage style gloves or a hybrid of sausage and block style (withe sausage style usually covering the leading fingers) because of this extra protection. But due to the single block, sausage style batting gloves do need time to be worn in for a couple of session to mould to the hands.

Palm Styles

(Pictured: Left Pittard palms & right sheep skin leather palm)

The palms of cricket batting gloves these days tend to be made of either sheep skin leather or Pittard leather palms. In the old days it used to be cotton palms but found to not really absorb sweat that well and also compromised grip after sweating into them.

With cricket batting gloves generally the more expensive the gloves the softer and higher grade of leather that's used to enhance the comfort and feel for the hands with Pittard leather palms reserved for the top end gloves as these feel the softest amongst all the palm styles and also said to absorb sweat better. But again, feel is very subjective, and you won't always see professional cricketers with Pittard palms as feel is personal.

Conclusion

These are probably the main factors when looking at cricket batting gloves, being whether you want more flexibility in the split finger style or more protection in the sausage style along with what kind of palm and level of softness you need in your gloves. Also considering what levels of protection you need for your budget and playing levels with the protection levels getting higher and palm tends to get softer the more you spend on your batting gloves.