Pads
Encyclopedia
Pads are protective equipment used by batters in the sports of cricket
and baseball
, and by goaltender
s in hockey
, bandy
and lacrosse
. They serve to protect the legs from impact by a hard ball or puck at high speed which could otherwise cause injuries to the lower leg.
In cricket, pads fall into two types, batting pads and wicket-keeper's pads. In Test and first-class cricket, the pads are white (to match the rest of the player's whites), while in limited overs cricket they may be coloured.
straps to fasten them to your leg, making them easy to adjust. A special knee roll is provided to protect knees from the ball. Traditional pads have ribs made up of cane wood to provide more protection, running vertically up to the knee roll. Professional players also include extra padding beneath the pads to encounter the impact from the ball generally delivered at a speed ranging from 80 to 90 mph (35.8 to 40.2 ).
Modern day pads are made up of durable, strong and ultra light synthetic material like PVC to avoid fatigue caused by wearing them for a long time. Traditional pads were made up of cotton, foam and cane wood strips covered by a white cloth, making them heavy.
s, exposed like batters in cricket or baseball to hard balls on their legs, adopted and modified leg pads from cricket to allow for safer work and for tactics that would otherwise be impossible.
, the goaltender
wears large leg pads to protect him from low-down impact by a puck
. To prevent these leg pads giving him advantage in defending the goal, there are restrictions on their size, which in recent years have been tightened by the National Hockey League
. Traditional ice hockey leg pads were made of leather
, but now lighter synthetic materials are used.
the goaltender wears leg pads to protect against the impact of shots low down (since the net is fairly low). There are restrictions on the dimensions of these pads, but unlike in ice hockey these relate to the depth of the pads.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and by goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
s in hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, bandy
Bandy
Bandy is a team winter sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal.The rules of the game have many similarities to those of association football: the game is played on a rectangle of ice the same size as a football field. Each team has 11 players,...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. They serve to protect the legs from impact by a hard ball or puck at high speed which could otherwise cause injuries to the lower leg.
In cricket, pads fall into two types, batting pads and wicket-keeper's pads. In Test and first-class cricket, the pads are white (to match the rest of the player's whites), while in limited overs cricket they may be coloured.
Batting pads
Batting pads are large, protecting shins, knees and a of lower thigh above knees, with a slot for the foot. Pads are one of the several protective gears wore by the cricketers while batting. Also known as leg guards, pads are wore on the legs by the batsman or the wicket keeper to protect them from the hard leather ball. Most pads have three velcroVelcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
straps to fasten them to your leg, making them easy to adjust. A special knee roll is provided to protect knees from the ball. Traditional pads have ribs made up of cane wood to provide more protection, running vertically up to the knee roll. Professional players also include extra padding beneath the pads to encounter the impact from the ball generally delivered at a speed ranging from 80 to 90 mph (35.8 to 40.2 ).
Modern day pads are made up of durable, strong and ultra light synthetic material like PVC to avoid fatigue caused by wearing them for a long time. Traditional pads were made up of cotton, foam and cane wood strips covered by a white cloth, making them heavy.
Wicket-keeper's pads
Originally, wicket-keepers used batting pads to protect their legs, but found the knee-protecting flaps interfered with their agility and ability to catch. There were also incidents where the ball lodged in the space between the flap and the wicket-keeper's leg. Modern wicket-keeper's pads are therefore smaller than batting pads, with insignificant knee flaps. Instead of three flaps these modern wicketkeeping pads contain two flaps - one at the bottom and the other one just below the knees.Goalkeepers’ pads
In stick-and-ball games, goalkeeperGoalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, a goalkeeper is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by intercepting shots at goal...
s, exposed like batters in cricket or baseball to hard balls on their legs, adopted and modified leg pads from cricket to allow for safer work and for tactics that would otherwise be impossible.
Ice hockey goaltender’s pads
In ice hockeyIce hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, the goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
wears large leg pads to protect him from low-down impact by a puck
Puck (sports)
A puck is a disk used in various games serving the same functions as a ball does in ball games. The best-known use of pucks is in ice hockey, a major international sport.- Etymology :The origin of the word "puck" is obscure...
. To prevent these leg pads giving him advantage in defending the goal, there are restrictions on their size, which in recent years have been tightened by the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
. Traditional ice hockey leg pads were made of leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, but now lighter synthetic materials are used.
Lacrosse goaltender’s pads
In lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
the goaltender wears leg pads to protect against the impact of shots low down (since the net is fairly low). There are restrictions on the dimensions of these pads, but unlike in ice hockey these relate to the depth of the pads.