If you’ve ever gone into bat and been hit on the knuckles, you’ll know that even with a pair of gloves on, it can really hurt. Protection for your hands is actually only one of the main purposes of gloves as, all being well, they should help your batting to improve as well.
In this guide, we’re taking an in-depth look at some of the best batting gloves available today, and reviewing these gloves to help you to make the right buying decision based on your needs. First, we’ve put together a buying guide. Cricket gloves aren’t an everyday purchase so you might need to do a bit of research before hitting the buy button.
The Best Cricket Gloves: Reviewed
Let’s move on to our picks of the best gloves currently on the market.
Village Cricket Co Batting Gloves – Best Value Pick
Only £39 – Buy from Village Cricket Co.
As we’re often explaining on this blog, cricket equipment can get really expensive, but gloves don’t have to cost you the earth.
Our batting gloves offer you all the protection you need, even when you are playing hard ball cricket, and they are available at a fraction of the price of some other brands.
The high quality PU and ultralight foam that sit within the finger rolls helps to absorb the impact when a ball hits the glove, and there is a reinforced finger section for all of your fingers and a bar to protect your thumb on the dominant side. This is a clever design function to make sure every part of your hand is covered.
Even though these gloves are much cheaper than most competing models at just £39 for a pair, there have been no sacrifices when it comes to quality of materials. A premium leather palm helps you to retain fantastic grip of the bat, even for a long innings, and helps with comfort. The high quality PU and ultralight foam in the finger rolls rival any other brand on the market.
The design is simple and effective, and these gloves can last you many years if you take good care of them.
Gray-Nicolls Legend Cricket Batting Gloves – Flexible Batting Gloves
RRP £120 – Buy from Cricket Direct
You can usually rely on Gray-Nicolls to make some quality cricket equipment, and their Legend Cricket Batting Gloves are no exception. These are significantly more expensive than the Village Cricket Co. option.
They do have a really impressive amount of flexibility in the fingers, with three to four sections allowing for a lot of movement and grip. As you’d expect for the money, they are also made out of high-quality materials.
The sides of the gloves feature a ‘Trizone Pro Shield Impact Bar’ which basically protects the side of the hand, which can be a tough area to ensure isn’t at risk of a painful connection with the ball. If you like to play sweep shots or unorthodox shots, this protection might be essential.
The Gripster Leather is also a quality addition which has a really great level of grip but also doesn’t degrade with use. In fact, the manufacturers claim it gets better over time, with more friction being generated with the bat.
The towelling wristband is another bonus, especially on hot and sweaty days, when you’re wearing all that heavy equipment and just want the option to wick some of the sweat away.
All-in-all, it’s hard to argue with these gloves in terms of quality, the price tag is just a bit higher than the average beginner or village cricketer will want to spend.
Kookaburra Ghost Pro Cricket Batting Gloves – Best For Big Hands
RRP £100 – Buy on Cricket Direct
Looking for cricket gloves to suit bigger hands? These Kookaburra gloves do a brilliant job, especially if you buy them in the oversized adult size. If you find that a lot of the standard sizes are just a little too tight then you might need to buy something with a specific larger size.
These aren’t just a plus-size option, though. They feature an exceptional Quartz Leather palm, and some great protection for your fingers, including high-density foam and reinforced fibre inserts on the fingers.
These gloves have been reengineered for 2022, and you can see from the vented design on the fingers, there is a good level of airflow through the gloves, helping to avoid them getting too clammy, even if you’re lucky enough to bat for a long time without getting a ball with your name on it.
The sleek design is another plus point, but as always, this is only ever going to be a bonus, and the main thing is the excellent protection offered to your fingers and the brilliant grip.
Adidas Incurza 1.0 Batting Gloves
RRP £90 – Buy on Cricket Direct
The Incurza gloves have an eye catching design and multiple colour schemes to choose between. They also offer excellent build-quality and a lightweight design, whilst still giving protection using quality PU material on the back of the glove.
The gloves have a split finger, V-shield design which allows you to generate a lot of movement in fingers and thumb, so there is a great level of flexibility to them.
TPU inserts are pretty good in terms of the protection they offer, especially when you consider that they weigh less than 180 grams per glove. This lightweight design is aided by the Pittard leather design, which covers the thumb to offer even more protection, and the palm has standard sheepskin leather which does a good job of allowing for a strong level of grip.
Some of the Adidas equipment on the market divides opinion, but these are some great gloves, and while not exactly cheap, they’re a little less expensive than some of the competing options on the list.
Ezza Pure Batting Gloves – Newcomer
RRP £69.99 – Buy on ezzacricket.com
These batting gloves are Ezza’s first venture into the market.
They were designed with the highest quality, comfort, and protection in mind. Using Pittards leather the gloves feel nice to wear, maximising comfort and durability. The gloves feature Ultra-light high density foam, they also have additional impact bars on the side of the gloves.
A new brand to the market, but the feedback they have received is that these gloves are so comfortable, and the colours make them stand out.
Gunn & Moore Original L.E Cricket Batting Gloves – Classic Design
RRP £135 – Buy on Cricket Direct
Looking for some cricket gloves with a really classic look to them?
These GM Original LE gloves are incredibly durable and hard-wearing, and can last a very long time if you look after them. They’re the most expensive set on the list, so you would expect that kind of level of quality.
These have been reengineered and upgraded for 2022, but the original, classic design was already very well-made, with only the best materials.
This includes a Pittard Leather palm which is great for your grip, as we’ve already established. It also has a huge level of protection on the rear of the hand, so even if you get hit by a brand new ball travelling at a high speed, you won’t wake up with a bruised (or worse) finger in the morning.
The pro PU material on the back of the hand is backed up by a plastic fibre shell that helps to deflect the ball and look after your hands and knuckles. There are high density foam inserts and cotton finger rolls which keep it comfortable and the sweatband on the bottom of the gloves allows you to wipe away the moisture from your brow! In total, the gloves weigh just 440 grams.
These gloves are available in right-handed and left-handed designs, in small adult, adult, and large adult sizes.
How to Choose Cricket Gloves
Let’s dive into the main things to consider before you make your purchase. Like everything in cricket, it’s vital to do a bit of research.
Protection
We’d say this should be the number one consideration when you want to buy cricket batting gloves. There is every chance you’ll be hit, even if you do have Steve Smith’s reactions. If you get hit on the knuckles and you aren’t wearing something that offers enough protection, it can be extremely painful.
Just like this is one of the most painful places to get a tattoo, it is also one of the most painful places to get hit by a hard ball going 70 miles per hour. Who knew?
Many cricket gloves are designed with hard-wearing protective bars, foam insides to absorb the impact, and a reinforced section for each finger.
Grip
Grip is one of the most important factors to consider, too. There’s no point in having a brilliantly protective set of batting gloves only to find that it feels like trying to hold a bar of soap.
This is why there are certain types of equipment in the cricket world where it is really important to get quality products. If not, it can impact your game a lot. Many gloves have some form of leather or synthetic leather palms, and aid with the grip of your bat, especially when coming into contact with the bat grip itself.
Comfort
This is not as much of an issue if you’re one of those batters who tends to only be out at the crease for four deliveries.
You should definitely prioritise comfort here. Sometimes, cricket gloves that have a lot of protection on them can feel really rigid and actually hurt if you wear them for long periods of time. This is one of the challenges for manufacturers, making a product with enough protection that actually feels nice to wear.
Size Matters, Or Does It?
This is an area of some debate. Different manufacturers all have their own definitions of size when it comes to batting gloves. Some simply have adult and youth sizes, and that may well be enough.
With the option to tighten the gloves using a velcro strap and elastic, gloves can be flexible and work for people with many different hand sizes.
A lot of the gloves on the market are available in three different adult sizes: Small adult, adult, and large adult (or oversized) so you can match the glove size to your hands. This is only really particularly helpful if you have really large hands (or particularly small hands). Most people can get by with the “adult” size.
Style and Design
This is another matter of some contention. Some people like to don the logo of their favourite cricket brands. There are also some pretty loud and stylish designs out there on the market, to suit virtually any taste.
Realistically, the only difference it makes is aesthetic. Whether you have some cool colours on your gloves or not is irrelevant to the way they perform, and here at the Village Cricket Co. we’re about keeping things pretty simple wherever possible, especially if it means we can pass on savings to customers.
Air Flow
This is partially about comfort, but it should also be about keeping your kit bag from becoming extremely smelly.
Hands can get really sweaty while you are batting, and this can make it harder for the gloves to give you the grip you need, but it can also make them smell pretty bad, especially if they just get chucked into a fusty bag.
If you’ve ever worn a shared pair of goalkeeping gloves at a football game you will probably know exactly what we mean by this. Luckily, some cricket batting gloves have a design that incorporates airflow, helping to avoid the buildup of sweat.
Price
Like a lot of cricket equipment, it is possible to buy cheap products that aren’t up to scratch. It’s also possible to break the bank and end up spending a fortune, which isn’t really necessary if you are a hobbyist rather than an aspiring pro. There is a balance to be struck between price and quality, and with the Village Cricket Co. batting gloves, there’s no need to compromise.
FAQs
Do I Need To Wear Inner Gloves?
Inners are extremely popular. These types of gloves look a bit like the ones you might see a pool or snooker referee wear to polish the balls. They’re usually white, and much thinner than the actual batting gloves. Do you need to wear them?
Inners can be a good way to protect the main gloves from sweat, and stop them from becoming smelly over time. They can also add that extra layer of protection, and if you are sharing your gloves, or letting your friends use them, this is also a good option when it comes to hygiene.
Why Do I Need to Choose Right or Left-Handed Gloves?
This is something that confuses beginners a lot. Surely a pair of gloves is always the same, whether you are left or right-handed?
Actually, you need to choose the right design when it comes to batting gloves, and this is usually down to the design features. The thumb and the back of the hand that will face the bowler have extra protection on them. So, whether you lead with your left or right hand is a key consideration when buying your gloves.
How Do I Wash Cricket Gloves?
Once the smell starts to build up, you might well be asking how you can wash your cricket gloves. Sadly, it isn’t as simple as just throwing the gloves in the washing machine.
Of course, if your gloves come with manufacturer guidelines on how to clean them, follow this advice to the letter. If not, the tips below should help.
Firstly, try to shake your gloves and chip away any surface dirt. Then, you can use lukewarm water and very mild washing liquid to dampen the gloves and wash the palms as well as the fabric areas. Use water alone to wash away any soap you can see on the gloves, and then leave them to dry by hanging them on a washing line.
Hopefully, this has armed you with plenty of information about the best cricket gloves available on the market in 2022, and some idea of the kind of gloves that will suit your budget and your requirements. Your gloves are a vital piece of equipment to protect your fingers, so be sure to opt for a quality and reliable pair in the correct size.