Every cricket club needs a great keeper, and every great keeper needs great gloves!
In this guide, we’re providing a rundown of the very best wicket keeping gloves for 2023, so you can make an informed decision on which gloves you’re going to use. Be warned, if you’ve got a brand new pair of gloves that are top-of-the-range, you’re not going to be able to blame them for those dropped catches.
It’s amazing what a difference top gloves can make. The palm having friction on them can even help you to take and hold on to catches. It’s not against the rules, either.
Perhaps more important is the fact that good gloves give you protection. Like other pads and cricket gear, they can prove to be the difference between a great catch and a drop with a side of broken finger.
How to Choose Wicket Keeping Gloves
With the importance of gloves in mind, let’s have a quick look at some of the criteria you should consider before taking the plunge and buying some gloves.
- Size. While adult sizes don’t tend to vary, you do need a different size for youth cricketers. Kids playing cricket need their own equipment to make sure it has a better fit, and this includes wicket keeping gloves.
- Price. It’s easy to spend thousands of pounds on cricket gear, but not always necessary. If you’re a village cricketer rather than the next Jos Buttler, you probably want to save a few pounds if you can.
- Padding. The padding and rigid design of the gloves make a big difference, especially if you are trying to avoid nasty bruises and pain in your hands. Gloves need to give you protection.
- Palm materials. A lot of great gloves can assist with your job. This is because they have a friction on the surface which means when the ball hits it doesn’t tend to instantly bounce off. Instead, it might give you that extra split second to make the catch.
A Word on Inner Gloves
You are definitely best off using inner gloves. These help to give more protection to your hands, but they also do a good job of extending the lifespan of the gloves. Also, if you are sharing gloves (for instance playing village cricket) then it is definitely more hygienic. They towel away the sweat and moisture that can build up on those hot days.
Sharing is also easy with bats, like the Village Cricket Bat, which can be a club bat, used by any new players or those who forgot their bat. Doing this with gloves means you should definitely wear inner gloves, too.
You can get specific inners for wicket keeping, but batting inner gloves can also do the job.
Best Wicket Keeping Gloves
Let’s explore some of the best brands and models of keeping gloves for you to consider (there’s something for every price range).
Gray Nicolls Legend – Professional Gloves
RRP: £150 Buy from Talent Cricket
These gloves from one of the biggest names in cricket equipment are not just good for the village cricketer, they are good enough for the professionals. Be warned that they are not cheap, but the features explain why.
These are a real leather glove with an XRD foam palm giving plenty of protection to your hands. This protection is going to be needed for all those catches you’ll take! The big surface area has a T-shaped webbing and an octopus grip. It can help you to hold on when the cherry hits your palm.
While some gloves are only available in one size, this comes in both Adult and Large adult. If you’re looking to splash out on a top glove brand then these can be a good shout, but they may not be required for the average cricketer.
Adidas XT 1.0
RRP: £100 Buy from Talent Cricket
The XT 1.0 gloves are pretty new, having only been introduced in 2020. They’re a little bit more affordable than some of the gloves at the upper end of the market, but they still have some awesome features.
The gloves have leather padded cuffs and comfortable octo grip, helping to keep you in control of those catches. The finger sections are reinforced to prevent the full impact of the balls causing you serious pain or injuries, but the soft foam also keeps them comfy enough.
One of the best features, that a lot of gloves don’t have, is perforated fingers. This means a bit more airflow and things can get less clammy in there. On a hot day, this can make a big difference.
Gunn & Moore Prima Wicket Keeping Gloves – Budget Option
RRP: £36.50 Buy from Cricket-Hockey
If you’ve been looking at the prices above in horror, don’t worry. There’s a budget pick here that still does a perfectly good job for village cricket matches.
On top of the fact that these are affordable, you’re still buying from a top brand in GM, with a great reputation.
Instead of using more complicated or expensive materials, this is made out of simpler stuff. There’s a cotton lining, a rubber palm (with a cotton filling) and PVC support for the back of the hand. Other than that, the design is largely the same as other gloves of this kind.
You can tell that these aren’t elite gloves when you use them, but actually they still do a pretty good job and offer plenty of protection which is the most important thing.
As well as coming in adult sizes, you can buy them in Youth and Junior sizes, so there is a Prima keeping glove for every age group.
There are many more wicket keeping gloves on the market, with brands like Kookaburra and Aero offering competition to those on this list. However, we believe the three options above to be ideal picks at three different price points, so you don’t have to break the bank to get something that will protect and help you with your catches.