Phillip Hughes death: Nasser Hussain leads calls for increased cricket helmet safety standards Manufacturers believe helmet technology is being held back by the reluctance of cricketers to wear the latest models due to worries over how they look and being on the receiving end of macho mickey-taking from former players. It is something Bryce McGain, the Australian former player, experienced when in 2009 he wore a new-style helmet in televised matches. "They explained the technology and I liked the idea that it was safer," he said. "The commentators had a go, saying, "He looks like Darth Vader," "He looks like RoboCop." It didn't bother me too much, but only a couple of other players wore it and if you don't have the players at the top, the ones on TV, wearing them, they won't sell. The chief executive of Albion, the company which produced McGain's helmet, says cricket is reluctant to make changes. "The ability of manufacturers to innovate is reliant on players embracing new technology and they are very, very traditional in cricket," said Brendan Denning. At the moment, we make incremental changes while trying not to upset the traditionalists. Other sports, like horse racing, more readily accept that injury is an issue. But Andrew Strauss, who played with Hughes for Middlesex, believes cricket is safer now than ever before. "The protection in the game of cricket has never been better than it is today," he said. I don't think any cricketer will go out there to bat these days worrying that his life might be on the line. I think in the old days pre-helmet that did take place quite often. These days it doesn't happen. I think it's really important we investigate this fully and see what can be done. That is the element of bat versus ball and there has got to be a little bit of an element of, not fear, but, as a batsman, you have to protect yourself, and if you lose that I think it shifts the balance between bat and ball too firmly in the favour of the batsman.