Adidas Cricket Equipment 2009

adidas, official supplier to the England cricket team, has introduced cricket bats, protective equipment and accessories to complement its existing range of footwear and apparel, ensuring that cricketers around the country will be the best equipped when they step out on the pitch.

The products have undergone high-performance evaluations with the England and Wales Cricket Board at Loughborough University’s ECB Performance Training Centre - England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen is already using the bats and equipment.

The adidas cricket bats, which go on sale in time for Christmas, fall into three different families designed to suit an individual’s playing style: ‘Libro’ is Latin for ‘to swing or brandish with poise’, and is for the player that likes to play on the back foot or on the rise, ‘Pellara’ means ‘to strike or drive’ and is for the player that likes to get forward and ‘Incurza’ means ‘to attack with strength’ in Latin, and is for the more aggressive forceful player. Each of the three styles is identified by a different bat shape and colour way along with a unique logo.

There are seven different grades of bat. Grade 1 (elite level) up to grade 4 (club level) are hand-made from the finest English willow and the entry level bats are made from Kashmir willow. Each bat has a nine cane, oval handle, an adidas specific grip and toe guard.

adidas has also created a range of protective equipment including a variety of pads and gloves which cater for players at every level, from club to elite, for adults and youths. The elite level pad has a mix of innovative design and adidas technologies, such as adiprene®, a cushioning material which is traditionally used in adidas running shoes to help absorb impact in the foot. The professional level pads are lightweight with cane inserts to give extra protection and a three knee roll design and are currently used by Kevin Pietersen (below right). Club level pads have the same look and feel as the elite level designs but at a reduced price.

Batting gloves, wicket keeping gloves and lining gloves have been introduced into the range and incorporate some of adidas’ leading technologies to provide extra protection for players’ fingers in dangerous impact areas. adiPrene® has been built into batting gloves to provide the best protection available on the market.

The adidas range of cricket footwear has also been updated and there are three new models:

• The Twenty2yds All Round is the perfect shoe to be worn in the outfield or on indoor wickets. It can also be used by the club player for batting and bowling. It has a lightweight breathable upper and full traxion outsole for superior grip.

• The Twenty2yds Lite is a brand new innovation in batting shoes. The shoe is designed to help keep a player more stable by distributing balance on the heel of the shoe, hence allowing for a stronger stance position. The shoe is very lightweight and has a breathable upper. The outsole is half spike, with the customizable option of removing two rubber lugs o Kevin Pietersen n the heel and adding two traditional spikes – to suit the conditions.

• The twenty2yds Mid has been built from scratch with the input of international players from the start to make a shoe that will distribute the huge forces that even top level fast bowlers put through their bowling boots. adiprene® and adiprene+®, lateral and medial promoderator support, redesigned velcro strap, and brand new spike and traxion layout all work together to distribute pressure in the best possible way. Extensive testing has returned very positive results on the support this shoe gives.

Robin Money, Head of Sports Marketing for adidas UK, said, “We are tremendously excited about our cricket product range, which will challenge the established cricket brands in the market . The products have already been extremely well received and it is great that the English cricket captain is as excited as we are by what we have on offer.”

Source: Cricketworld.com