Wicket keeping gloves size: junior to full, inners and webbing

Find the wicket keeping gloves size from the hand, not the age

Most buyers choose a wicket keeping gloves size by age. Age is a fair start and a poor finish. Two 12-year-olds can need different sizes, and a keeper who grows fast can skip a size in one season.

Measure the hand instead. Lay the open hand flat on a table. Measure across the palm at the knuckles, leaving out the thumb. Then measure from the crease at the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. Write both numbers down in centimetres.

Keeping gloves are cut wider than batting gloves. The shell is broad so the ball has a big target, and there is room inside for an inner glove. So the batting glove size is only a rough guide. Go by the palm width, and use the hand length to break a tie between two sizes.

The junior sizes and when to move up

Junior keeping gloves usually come in three steps: small boys, boys and youth. As a rough guide, small boys fits a palm of about 6.5 to 7 cm across, often ages 6 to 9. Boys fits about 7 to 8 cm, often ages 9 to 12. Youth fits about 8 to 8.5 cm, often ages 12 to 15. Each maker cuts a little differently, so read the size chart on the product page as well.

Buy the size that fits now with a thin inner on. Do not buy a size to grow into. A glove that is too big twists at the moment the ball lands, and the ball finds the fingertips instead of the palm. That is how most junior keepers jam a finger.

Move up a size when the fingertips press the end of the stalls with the inner on, or when the cuff stops short of the wrist bone. Most juniors move up once every 18 months to two years.

Junior keeping gloves run from about ₹900 to ₹1,800 at MRP. The junior bats, pads and gloves are grouped by size, so a parent can match keeping gloves and junior pads in the same order.

Full size for adults

Adult keeping gloves come as men's, and some ranges add a large men's. A palm wider than about 8.5 cm across fits men's. If the palm sits between youth and men's, pick men's and use a padded inner to take up the gap. A slightly big glove with a thicker inner is safer than a tight one that pinches the fingertips.

The palm is where the money goes. A glove near ₹1,500 MRP usually has a synthetic leather back, a rubber palm and foam padding. Between ₹3,000 and ₹4,500 MRP you tend to get a leather back, thicker pimpled rubber on the palm and denser padding in the fingers.

For a keeper who stands up to a hard leather ball every weekend, pick the pimpled rubber palm with a leather back. For tennis-ball and soft-ball cricket, the lighter glove at the lower MRP is enough.

The inner glove does half the work

The inner sits under the keeping glove. It soaks up sweat, takes some of the sting out of a hard catch, and fills small gaps in the fit.

There are two kinds. Cotton chamois inners are thin, cool and easy to wash, at about ₹250 to ₹450 MRP. Padded inners add thin foam or felt on the palm and the fingertips, at about ₹500 to ₹900 MRP.

Buy padded inners for anyone keeping to a leather ball. Buy cotton chamois for tennis-ball and soft-ball games. Either way, buy two pairs so one dries while the other is worn.

Fit the inner first, then the glove over it. The inner should be snug, with no loose fabric at the fingertips. Spare fabric bunches up inside the stall and turns into a blister by the second session. Inner sizes follow the glove, so junior gloves take junior inners.

Check the webbing before you buy

The webbing is the panel between the thumb and the first finger. Many catches on the leg side land there, and the laws of the game limit it.

Webbing is allowed only between the thumb and the first finger. It must be one piece of material that does not stretch, with no padding or tucks sewn into it. When the thumb is opened wide, the web must pull tight, and its top edge must not stand above a straight line from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the first finger.

Test it at home. Put the glove on, spread the thumb as wide as it goes, and look at the web. It should pull flat and sit on or below that line. A web that stands above the line can be ruled out by an umpire on match day, so send that pair back before the season starts.

A fit test on the day it arrives

Put the inners on, then both gloves. The fingertips should reach the end of each stall with about half a centimetre to spare.

Close each hand into a cup. The palm should fold without buckling in the middle. Then bring the gloves together in the catching shape, little fingers touching. The two edges should meet without a gap.

Fasten the wrist strap. The cuff should cover the wrist bone. Shake the hand hard toward the floor. The glove should stay put.

If you paid cash on delivery, try the gloves before you throw away the box or remove the tags. Keep both until the fit test is done. If the size is wrong, ask for an exchange within the return window shown on your order, and say which size you need.

Care so the pair lasts the season

After every game, take the inners out and let both dry in the shade. Never dry keeping gloves on a heater or in strong sun. Heat hardens a leather back and cracks the rubber pimples on the palm.

Wipe the palm with a damp cloth once it is dry. Store each glove with a cricket ball cupped in the palm, so the glove keeps its catching shape in the kit bag.

Wash cotton inners in cold water after each use. Wash padded inners by hand once a week and let them dry flat.

You can compare sizes, palms and MRPs for every pair on the wicket-keeping gloves page and order with COD or prepaid.