Cricket First Aid Kit Contents List

Common Risks When Playing Cricket

Although cricket is not a contact sport, playing the game comes with risks. The high speed of a cricket ball, when bowled and met with even more velocity when struck by a batsman, is a dangerous aspect of the game. On top of this, the repetitive movement required when bowling, batting, catching and running can cause overuse injuries, and the impact of a fall or collision can cause damage.

Common cricket injuries and risks include:

• Concussion (impact with the head)
• Back injuries and pulled shoulder muscles from repetitive bowls
• Wounds caused by impact with the ball or falls
• Hand and finger damage when catching
• Fractured or broken bones caused by falls or hard impact

Good training, coaching, and ensuring completion of warm-up and cool-down practices are essential to reduce the risk of injury for cricket players. Appointing a trained first aider and providing all the necessary cricket first aid kit contents are also vital measures to keep cricketers safe, even during training matches.

What Should be in a Cricket First Aid Kit?

Ensure that you know everything that should be on your first aid kit list for cricket safety precautions; this includes checking that it’s well-stocked. Taking your duty of care seriously will keep your club compliant with UK health and safety guidelines. Our blog covers the importance of cricket first aid kits and sports first aid kit essentials.

Scroll down for details of everything a cricket first aid kit should contain and a downloadable first aid kit list for cricket clubs to help you check what you are running low on.

First Aid Guidance Leaflet

Despite our best efforts, accidents and injuries can occur on and off the pitch when a trained first aider isn’t available to help. A first aid guidance leaflet with clear instructions for the person providing treatment is an essential piece of cricket first aid kit contents.

Wound Dressings

Wound dressings allow the body to focus on healing while protecting the wound area from being knocked or rubbed due to their padded layer. Dressings protect wounds from further damage by keeping them in a clean environment minimising bacterial contamination. Cricket players could suffer a wound due to impact with the ball or a bat and falls or collisions with other players.

Choose an adhesive wound dressing to quickly secure protection over a wound too large to be covered by a plaster. Its adhesive edge allows it to remain in place without a bandage or tape for quick, easy wound dressing.

Your cricket first aid kit contents should include a range of dressings to treat wounds of varied sizes.

Our kit contains the following options:

• Steropore Adhesive Wound Dressing 5cm x 7.5cm x 4
• Sterostrip Wound Closures – 6mm x 75mm x 3
• Eye Pad Wound Dressing x 2
• Finger Wound Dressing x 2
• Large Wound Dressing x 2
• Medium Wound Dressing x 2
• Steropad Sterile Low Adherent Dressing 5cm x 5cm x 5
• Steropad Sterile Low Adherent Dressing 10cm x 10cm x 5

Washproof Plasters

Access to plasters is essential to treat small cuts or abrasions that aren’t large enough to require a wound dressing. Cricket players could cut themselves at any point during a match or training session. Plasters should come in various shapes and sizes, be hypoallergenic to suit sensitive skin, and comfortably protect an open wound from bacteria. Players can also use them to protect blisters from rubbing, reducing discomfort and the risk of infection.

Cricket first aid kit contents should include a minimum of 20 x Washproof Hypoallergenic Adhesive Plasters.

Clinical Waste Bags

An essential part of any cricket first aid kit, use clinical waste bags to safely dispose of anything soiled with bodily fluids, including dressings, plasters, used tape and bandages. Keeping all contaminated first aid materials in a clinical waste bag enables you to maintain a clean environment.

Cricket first aid kit contents should include a minimum of 2 clinical waste bags.

Bandages

Bandages are a versatile piece of first aid equipment suited to treat a range of injuries that cricketers face.

Use a lightweight and stretchy conforming bandage to wrap around dressings to secure them in place or gently support wrist or ankle joints that still require mobility and breathability.

Crepe bandages are highly flexible and versatile, commonly used to support strained muscles or sprained joints. They can also be used to add extra padding over a wound dressing.

Triangular bandages have many benefits, often used as a sling for an injured limb or to secure wound dressings safely, even when the patient is moving around.

Elastic adhesive bandages are highly versatile, providing compression to soft tissue injuries while reducing swelling. It adheres to skin easily and can be torn by hand to wrap around fingers, wrists, ankles and knees to offer support and protection.

Our sport first aid kit provides a wide choice of bandages to treat your cricket players:

• Steroply Conforming Bandage x 2
• Sterocrepe Crepe Bandage 7.5cm x 4.5m x 2
• Triangular Non-Woven Bandage x 4
• Elastic Adhesive Bandages 2.5cm x 4.5m x 1 and 5cm x 4.5m x 1

Tapes

All cricket first aid kit contents should include a choice of tape which makes providing treatment much quicker and more effective.

Hypoallergenic microporous tape sticks easily and comfortably to the skin to secure dressings and bandages and doesn’t hurt or leave a residue when removed.

Zinc Oxide tape is far more rigid and has a stronger adhesive to provide consistent support to injured joints, especially for batters and fielders. This versatile tape is non-stretch, so you can use it to immobilise joints or digits to limit potential damage. It tears by hand and can be applied easily to hard-to-reach areas.

Disposable Gloves (in pairs)

When providing first aid care, it’s essential that you are able to put a barrier between you and the casualty’s bodily fluids to protect you from infection. Always put on a pair of clean disposable gloves when tending to a suspected wound, even where you think just a plaster is necessary. Try to make sure your first aid kit stocks nitrile gloves if possible. They are designed to be puncture-proof to offer increased protection and durability.

Cricket first aid kit contents should include more than one set of gloves in case you need to treat multiple casualties.

Instant Icepacks and Freeze Spray

Cold treatment can be hugely effective in managing swelling or muscle pain caused by an incident on the cricket pitch.

Be prepared to respond to any knocks your cricketers could suffer from with an instant icepack. Applying an icepack quickly can help reduce swelling, minimise pain symptoms, and even reduce the cell damage in the affected area. Access to a freezer isn’t always possible on the pitch, so an endothermic instant ice pack that cools immediately when shaken and squeezed means you can apply soothing relief as soon as needed after a collision.

Use freeze spray for quick and long-lasting relief to players complaining of cramps or stiffness and is easy to apply and reapply as required.

Choose between both options in our kit:

• Instant Ice Pack x 2
• Freeze Spray x 1

Eye and Wound Wash

For safe wound dressing, use a sterile saline solution to clean out cuts and wounds before applying a dressing or bandage, even a plaster where the skin has been cut deeply. Where an eye area has been compromised, experts recommend using eyewash as soon as possible to flush out any contaminants, protecting the eye from further damage.

While sterile eye and wound wash solutions are available in larger bottles, cricket first aid kit contents should include small disposable pods for ease of use.

Our Sports First Aid Kit contains four Sterowash 20ml pods.

Alcohol Free Wipes

Safely clean cuts and wounds to reduce infection using disposable alcohol-free wipes that are gentle on the skin.

Gauze Swabs and Sutures

Use versatile gauze swabs to clean wounds, protect them during dressing application, and clean up blood or other bodily fluids with ease.

After cleaning, applying sutures effectively prevents a cut from re-opening when a cricketer returns to play. They gently hold a wound together, aiding the body’s natural healing process.

Good cricket first aid kits should contain multiple sterile swabs and sutures to cater for a severe injury or multiple casualties. Our Sports First Aid Kit provides:

• Sterogauz Gauze Swab x 10
• Sterostrip Wound Closures – 6mm x 75mm x 30 in 3 packs

Scissors and Tweezers

Having the right tools to provide safe and effective first aid treatment quickly is essential.

Use blunt-ended medical-grade scissors to cut bandages, tape, and even clothing without risking puncturing the casualty’s skin.

Tweezers are essential for removing foreign particles from a wound area delicately and (hopefully!) painlessly. Use tweezers to remove debris but never insert them into the wound. Ensuring you remove all debris and clean a wound properly before dressing it is essential and will improve healing while reducing the risk of infection.

Your cricket first aid kit contents should include a pair of blunt-ended scissors and a pair of tweezers.

Foil Blankets

Foil blankets are a must-have in a first aid kit list for cricket, especially when weather conditions are poor. Wrap them around a casualty to manage shock symptoms. If a player has suffered an injury or collision, protecting them from exposure and keeping them warm will help to speed up their recovery. Foil blankets should be coated on both sides and can be folded up to fit neatly into your first aid kit, ready for use.

Resusciade Face Shield

In the event of a cardiac arrest during a cricket match or training session, a trained first aider should provide CPR treatment immediately. Having access to a disposable resusciade to place over the casualty’s nose and mouth will create a protective barrier between the casualty and first aider when providing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. This helps to protect both parties from the transmission of infection.

Glucose Chews

Managing low blood sugar levels and hypoglycemia in casualties is essential. Give a cricket player suffering from shock or exhaustion a glucose chew to minimise the risk of drowsiness and even the onset of a coma or seizure.

Where weather conditions on the cricket pitch are extreme, providing glucose chews in your cricket first aid kit contents can hugely impact your team’s energy levels, injury recovery, and wellbeing.

Petroleum Jelly

Create a waterproof barrier by spreading petroleum jelly over healing wounds and grazes or lubricate areas where rubbing and chafing are likely. Some helmet-wearing cricketers use petroleum jelly around their ears and neck to make their helmets and face guards more comfortable. Petroleum jelly is widely used across all sports, and we recommend you include some in your cricket first aid kit contents.

Safety Pins

Use safety pins to safely secure dressings, bandages, and slings. They are versatile, adjustable and reusable.

Our comprehensive Sports First Aid Kit contains all of the items above, while our Junior Sports Team First Aid Kit is a great-value option for younger teams. Professional clubs might benefit from our Sports Medical Kit that stocks all of the above items in higher quantities and other valuable first aid items, including hand sanitiser, antiseptic cream, and blister dressings. Our medical kit is divided into a pitch-side kit and a specialised physio kit to cater to serious injuries.

Cricket First Aid Kit Contents Checklist

Download and print out this cricket first aid kit contents checklist to ensure your first aid supplies are stocked up and in-date.

Please enter your details into the form below along with any questions or comments, and a member of our team will be happy to provide you with more information: