• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Wicket Keeping Finger Injuries

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
Two games down into yet another season, and in a somewhat terrifying development it turns out that I'm the best 'keeper in my side.

In throwing myself around after a wayward delivery or return, I've ended up with what I'm assuming is a sprained finger: joints painful to the firm touch, inability to bend them, some swelling and a lovely deep purple complexion. Now, given that I've done this twice already this season, and don't especially want to end up with fingers that look like a packet of chicken twisties by the time I'm 30, does anybody have suggestions for methods of preventing these types of injuries?

I've been wrapping tape laterally around the affected joints, but I'm not sure if it's the best method of a) stabilising the dodgy joints in question or b) preventing it from happening again.

Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
 

Daemon

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I sprained 2 ligaments on my middle and ring fingers (right hand) last season, it was truly awful. It hurt putting the gloves on but I still did it anyways because I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Now the middle finger on my right hand is ****ed and can't be fully straightened.

I still don't do preventive taping, though your thread has reminded me why I should.

Got no idea where to start tbh, I've asked this question on the forum before and didn't get any help.
 
Last edited:

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Catch them cleanly :ph34r:

Genuinely don't know the answer to this question. Will ask around for you mate.
 

cpr

International Coach
IMO it depends how you are spraining them - if its not clean catching then its practice catching more and pad up the fingers too.

If its landing, then its practice jumping - Try jumping around as if you're going for a catch, but hold the ball instead of fending a knock down. That way you can can concentrate on where your hands are going on the way down like you've made the catch, without having to think about positioning/grabbing etc**. It's rather easy to naff your fingers up by landing on the tips of them (a painful lesson I got through footie for years, less so keeping wicket). Ideally you want your forearm hitting the ground first - If its a diving catch at full stretch, then at least you want to be landing with a totally straight arm and on the side of your hand, like a karate chop on the ground. If thats not possible (ie ball nearer the body) then you need to be conscious of a couple of things

A) Get your hands clear - pull them away from the landing point, preferably towards your legs (and towards the stumps) so its your leading arm that hits the ground first, forcing the body to roll on that pivot (and if you've pushed your hands forward, then natural momentum should take you down onto a shoulder then your back, rather than smashing your temple into the ground and going straight over your neck)
B) get as much of the finger under the ball as possible, that way if you are landing straight down, you're not using your end knuckle as a crumple zone, but the palm of your hand instead, and the joint thats becoming the pivot point is the much more supple (though still rather breakable) wrist.

Truth is, if you're catching the ball so low that you don't have time to readjust the hands, then take a step forward. Yeah the catches come a bit quicker, and look less flashy, but the ball arrives that bit higher, and the injuries come less frequently too. Its not like football where the keeper has a line that has to be defended, you choose the position to stand.

Also on top of that think about footwork - are you getting the best leap to the ball as possible? If your jump is rather flat then you are coming down hard on the hands. Get a good arc to your jump and your body will naturally roll through, coming down on the leading arm instead. Make sure your jumping base is as solid as possible - feet as close together as you can so its both legs powering the jump, not just your leading leg.

Try to get the best gloves you can if you are serious about staying behind the stumps. Its been a long time since I've bought WK gloves, but sadly a quick scan suggests they've not come on at all really, I swore by the adidas fingersave gloves for football because of too many breaks and strains, but it doesn't seem like they've brought the technology to cricke

**My advice, put a ball on the ground just infront of where you'd be looking to take the catch, and keep one in hand. When your jump reaches the 'catch point', then think about the landing. That way you're giving yourself the correct landing time without worrying about making a clean catch.
 
Last edited:

Dan

Hall of Fame Member
That's a brilliantly instructive and insightful post that makes me realise just how ****ing **** a keeper I am.

Seriously though, cheers. Lots of stuff to work on.
 

Top