There have been widespread concerns surrounding the safety of bowlers and thus Cricket Australia (CA) has fast-tracked its move in the development of protective headgear. Report claims that the bowler safeguarding product will be ready by the end of this year.

The game has been overly tilted in favour of the batsmen for a long while now and one of the big reasons behind this is the heavy willows that batsmen employ across all formats. It has also made the sport increasingly dangerous for close-in fielders and bowlers.

In wake of the incident that took place last month when a net bowler suffered a fractured skull after he was hit by a David Warner straight drive, the issue was brought back into the limelight once again.

"CA has been leading testing on a newly-designed, Australian-developed helmet for players in contact football codes, which is hoped can help protect cricketers as well," read a report in cricket.com.au. "Testing has shown the helmet can reduce the likelihood of concussion by up to 55 percent for football players."

In 2017, New Zealand pacer Warren Barnes grabbed the headlines for wearing a similar protective gear in a domestic match.

"The way I follow through once I deliver the ball, my head stays really low down and I don't actually see the ball until the batter has hit it," Barnes had told BBC at that time. "I had quite a lot of close calls in the nets and previous games being hit in the chest, but thankfully nothing in the face.”

There have been plenty of instances where bowlers have been hit in the face or suffered a serious head injury in the last couple of years. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali domestic T20 competition last season, Bengal pacer Ashoke Dinda got badly hit on his head during Bengal's practice match. Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed needed surgery on his jaw, front teeth and lip after being struck in the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.