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Splits vs Sausage - Decoding Batting Gloves Finger Styles
Choosing the right pair of cricket batting gloves is about more than just finding a good fit; the finger split style is a critical factor in influencing your comfort, protection, and performance at the crease. The two main styles you'll encounter are Sausage finger (traditional) and Split finger (block).
Here's a breakdown of the key differences to help you decide which is right for you!
Sausage Finger Gloves
The 'traditional' style of batting glove. This design features continuous, cylindrical padding for each digit. Each finger is encased in a robust, uniformly padded tube.
Key Characteristics:
Superior Protection - This is the style's biggest selling point. The thick padding across the entire finger provides an excellent shield, making it perfect for facing high-pace bowling where maximum impact resistance is needed.
Feel -They tend to feel a little more "clunky" this is due to the thick, finger-encasing padding.
Flexibility - Generally, they are less flexible than split-finger gloves, which can slightly restrict finger movement and the natural wrap of the hand around the bat handle.
Best Suits - Players who prioritize maximum protection above all else.
Split Finger Gloves
The modern alternative, Split Finger gloves, use a segmented block design for the padding on each finger. The padding is broken up into multiple sections, often with small breaks between them. These sections can be split via straight, diagonal, or 'V' & 'U' splits.
Key Characteristics:
Enhanced Flexibility - The segmented design allows the glove to bend and flex far more easily. This provides a greater range of motion, ideal for better grip, comfort, and control.
Feel - The enhanced flexibility allows the hand to wrap more naturally around the bat handle, which many players feel gives them a better "feel" for the bat and their shots.
Protection - While still very protective (often using high-density foams and fibre inserts), the presence of splits means they can occasionally be perceived as offering marginally less all-round uniform protection than the continuous sausage design.
Best Suits - Players who value flexibility, comfort, and control.
The Hybrid Option
Its also worth noting that manufacturers are also now creating Hybrid gloves the combine the best of both worlds. Usually these gloves will feature the more protective, sausage style on the lead two fingers (most vulnerable to impact) and the more flexible split style on the remaining fingers.
Ready to pick out some new gloves, but still not sure what your style is? If you can, always try on both types, grip a bat and see which one feels like more an extension of your hand; because comfort and confidence are what matters when you walk out to bat!
Yours in Cricket,
The GCCC
