Irish pacer modifies headgear to prevent injury that claimed the life of Australia's Phillip Hughes
John Mooney (right) shakes hands with West Indies' Darren Sammy after their World Cup match at Saxton Field in Nelson, New Zealand. Inset: Phillip Hughes
Canberra: Ireland fast bowler John Mooney has delved into medieval history to improve his own batting helmet at the World Cup in the aftermath of the Phillip Hughes tragedy, Irish media reported yesterday.
John Mooney (right) shakes hands with West Indies' Darren Sammy after their World Cup match at Saxton Field in Nelson, New Zealand
The 33-year-old Dubliner designed an attachment, which he calls a "gorget", to protect the neck at the back and side of the head. A "gorget", from the French word for throat, was a crucial part of suits of armour worn in the Middle Ages that protected the neck and throat.
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"It's a very simple idea and it's designed to attach to existing helmets," Mooney told the Irish Independent.
Mooney said he started work on the attachment after a cousin was hit on the neck in a club game last year, and his work intensified when Australian batsman Hughes suffered his fatal blow in November.
Phillip Hughes. Pics/Getty Images
Safety first
"It's something myself and my father-in-law were working on. He's an architect and pretty useful with his hands too and we set about designing an extra grille to fix at the back of the helmet.
"Safety is something I was very aware of before what happened to Phil."
Mooney, who sported the new design in the World Cup win over the United Arab Emirates in Brisbane last week, hopes to have the gorget approved and in production within a few months.
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