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<\/p>\nA University of Waikato engineering graduate has played a large part in developing innovative new cricket player protection, aiming to improve safety in one of the sport\u2019s most vulnerable areas.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr Keegan Hall, who began developing the technology during his undergraduate engineering degree at Waikato and continued refining it alongside his PhD, played a key role in designing a new cricket box that uses engineered materials and designs based on rigorous testing to better protect players from high-speed impacts. \u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dr Keegan Hall<\/p>\n
A cricket box is a hard protective guard worn by players to shield the groin from\u00a0the\u00a0impact of the cricket ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The box is the first product from new sports protection brand Cover, co-founded by Black Cap Kane Williamson, and was sparked in 2012 during a memorable Test match versus South Africa.<\/p>\n
Facing the undisputed number one ICC Test bowler of the time, Dale Steyn, Williamson was hit flush in the box, cracking it and causing intense pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fast-forward, Keegan\u2019s involvement in the project began with a summer engineering work placement with Cover co-founder Jason Low and later continued into his engineering R&D capstone, jointly supervised by Mr Low and Dr Tim Walmsley, Associate Professor in Te Kura Mata-Ao School of Engineering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt started with the\u00a0idea\u00a0there should be something better than the standard plastic protector,\u201d says\u00a0Keegan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keegan\u00a0spent months researching existing products, testing\u00a0materials,\u00a0and building prototypes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early experiments included firing cricket balls at protective gear using a bowling machine which he found wasn\u2019t accurate enough, so Keegan custom-built an air cannon capable of replicating high-speed impacts. \u00a0<\/p>\n
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The product is made out of aluminium and foam<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bought a range of products and tested them. All cracked, split or dented under impact speeds below what is experienced in professional cricket, which showed there was definitely room for improvement,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Through computer simulations and physical testing, Keegan identified aluminium as the optimal material for the outer shell, balancing strength, weight, and cost.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shell\u00a0prevents direct impact\u00a0to\u00a0the body, but the foam does a lot of\u00a0heavy\u00a0lifting. It absorbs the force and\u00a0disperses\u00a0the\u00a0load,\u00a0so the player feels significantly less impact.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
The development took five years from the early prototypes to the finished product which is now available to be purchased.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty surreal to go from those first rough prototypes to now holding a finished product that\u00a0 people are actually using,\u201d Keegan says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The initial response to the product has been overwhelmingly positive, Keegan acknowledged, while also noting that it highlights the importance of addressing the stigma around groin injuries in cricket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0something players\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0always talk about, even when injuries are serious. But\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0an area where better protection can make a real difference.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keegan\u00a0says\u00a0the project\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0the value of collaboration between\u00a0universities and industry, with Waikato providing access to labs,\u00a0equipment\u00a0and technical\u00a0expertise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Keegan-Hall-and-Professor-Tim-Walmsley__ResizedImageWzYwMCw0MDBd.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Dr Keegan Hall and Professor Tim Walmsley<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout the University\u2019s\u00a0facilities and\u00a0support we\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0have done this. When\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0starting out\u00a0with a project\u00a0that partnership is\u00a0really important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now working as a postdoctoral researcher in energy engineering at Waikato,\u00a0Keegan\u00a0remains\u00a0involved\u00a0with Cover\u00a0in an advisory capacity, supporting further product development and testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He says the experience has been a unique opportunity to combine engineering with\u00a0his\u00a0personal passion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to work on something connected to a sport you love\u00a0is pretty special and hopefully\u00a0it makes the game safer for everyone playing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr Walmsley, who continues to work closely with Keegan noted,\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWaikato Engineering has a strong innovation culture and a decades-long track record of partnering with industry to deliver practical solutions, as demonstrated in Keegan\u2019s story and many others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A University of Waikato engineering graduate has played a large part in developing innovative new cricket player protection,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-606744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}