England cricket players to use sunglasses to combat glaring sunshine

LONDON - The England cricket team players have been told how to optimise their vision by wearing the right coloured lenses to combat the glaring sunshine that can impede players’ vision during matches and make it difficult for them to make crucial catches.

Optometrists and sports scientists at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have been running tests to find the best way to combat the glaring sunshine.

They found that with the right kind of eyewear, it was possible to improve their ability to spot the ball by up to 28 per cent compared to wearing no sunglasses, The Telegraph reported.

The secret tests, which were conducted with the help of the sportswear firm Adidas, also revealed that sunglasses with grey lenses, which are commonly favoured by players, are too dark for most conditions and performed badly.

Instead, players have now been told how to optimise their vision by wearing the right coloured lenses for the conditions from a selection of yellow, red, gold, silver and orange.

For example, orange lenses were found to be better for players at dusk, particularly when playing with a white ball rather than the traditional red ball.

Players, including bowler Monty Panesar, were asked to wear different coloured lenses to see what improvement they made to their performance and were put through their paces by fielding machines under a range of different lighting conditions, the Paper reports.

The results of the research are to be formally unveiled next month by Simon Timson, head of sport science and medicine at the ECB, after members of the England squad have been briefed on the findings. (ANI)