An Australian umpire says big bats have made the game so dangerous that umpires need to wear helmets - and he claims powerful West Indian batting star Chris Gayle agrees.
Sydney-based Karl Wentzel believes the ICC must address the need for umpires to wear protective gear to prevent fatalities.
Wentzel is known as the "umpire who wears a helmet" according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Wentzel donned a lid after he lost five teeth and was knocked out when a ball smacked him in the mouth in 2001. Medical repairs cost him nearly $50,000.
An Israeli umpire Hillel Oscar - a former national captain - died late last year when a ball cannoned off the stumps and hit his neck. An umpire died in Wales five years ago after a throw by a fielder hit him on the head.
"The bats are so much stronger today and batsmen are hitting the ball heavier," Wentzel said.
