How to choose cricket shoes
You’re going to spend hours on the field so ensuring you buy the correct cricket shoes, is one of the most important decisions you make as a cricketer.
Thankfully from a budget perspective, cricket is one of the sports where getting a good pair of shoes doesn’t actually cost that much. The likes of GM, Kookaburra and Gray-Nicolls have some excellent shoes starting from the £35 mark for seniors and £25 mark for juniors.
Then for those wanting to go up a notch, the likes of Adidas have shoes starting from around £50 and Asics likewise cater to a similar price point, going up to over the hundred pound mark for the top of the line models such as the Advance and Vector shoes.
So in terms of design, what are the options? Well for those playing indoors or fielding on fairly dry grounds there are the full rubber model shoes. These are also suited to those playing on Astroturf. Before other models of great comfort and good traction to thanks to the people design rubber soles and are very often the preferred choice for many batsmen.
Next we have the multi option models which allow you to have a full spike sole, a half spike sole or even a full rubber layout. By simply changing the stud layout to the sole you have a variety of different sole options within one shoe. So depending on the type of ground you’re playing on or whether you are batting, bowling or fielding you have it all within the one shoe.
Likewise for our junior players the same options are available, the rubber shoes as well as the multi option ones.
So now you know what’s available, the next question to ask is why is there such a price difference between those that are available for around £35 whereas others can cost in excess of £100 for what is in effect a cricket shoe.
The answer is that it’s all in the technology. Brands like Asics and Adidas have many years of experience in producing top quality performance sport shoes for some of the worlds best athletes and sportsmen and the same high-tech know how has gone into the production of their cricket shoes. Asics are known to make the finest running shoes in the world, the GT2000 and Kayano models are used by marathon runners as well as other top forming athletes.
As soon as you put on a pair of Asics cricket shoes, the difference you feel is immense and you soon realise why you’re being charged the extra pounds. The comfort levels as well as the stability you feel is second to none and after a long day on the field you ultimately, feeling more relaxed and less fatigued. Asics shoes are known for their gel technology which give a cushioned feel but with absolute stability so as to avoid foot roll and help in the prevention of injuries.
Likewise, the Adidas cricket you range is now one of the most widely seen brands on any international field, it’s what the top level players trust and demand when it comes to applying the tools of the trade.
Lower down the spectrum where we have brands like kookaburra, Gray Nicolls and GM their shoes offer supreme comfort and for the price are simply amazing.
The final choice is ultimately yours, but at least the choices and quality available start from a sensible price.
