The death of Australian Test cricketer Phillip Hughes rocked the sports world in 2014 and presented a stark reminder of the dangers in high-speed ball sports.
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Twelve years on, Australian inventor and materials engineer Charisma Wickham has taken a giant leap in the world of sports safety, securing Australian design registration for a world-first 'safety collar' cricket shirt.
The invention is designed to save lives by protecting players from catastrophic neck injuries.
All it is: a slightly modified, collard shirt.
"Phillip Hughes' passing was a heartbreaking wake-up call," Wickham said. "Sadly there has been another death since in October 2025 and many other serious injuries.
"This highlights the reality that even world-class players with access to the best equipment can still be vulnerable. I wanted to create something simple, affordable and scalable that could help close that gap."
Cricket balls can travel at 100-150km/h, creating substantial risk to any unprotected part of the body. While helmets and other protective equipment have advanced over the years, the neck region remains inadequately protected.
With this in mind, the safety collar has been engineered to absorb and disperse the impact of a high-speed cricket ball, integrating an impact-resistant protective collar directly into a standard cricket shirt.
The shirt is designed to be worn by cricketers at all levels, from grassroots and club players to professional and international athletes, and provides critical protection to one of the most vulnerable and least protected areas of the body: the neck.
"We have helmets, pads, boxes and gloves, but the neck has remained dangerously exposed," Wickham said. "One ball, one bad bounce, one moment can change a life. This shirt is designed to help prevent that."
How does it work?
The protective system uses two high-density foam tubes with hollow centres and a lightly padded resin backing layer.
The tubes are designed to take, spread and deflect impact around the neck area, and since the centre is hollow, the ball's force is diverted away from the body rather than directed into it.
Prototype shirts have already been created using standard cricket shirts for demonstration and early testing. Wickham now just needs help to get the ball rolling on a larger scale.
Sports equipment manufacturers, sportswear brands, clubs and governing bodies are among the target audience for taking that next step.
It's not exclusive to cricket, either. The technology has potential application in other sports including field hockey, baseball, softball and lacrosse.
"This invention is ready for its next chapter," Wickham said. "With the right partner, we can turn a simple idea into a standard piece of protective apparel that has the potential to save lives.
"Any sport where a ball can reach the neck at 100 kilometres an hour should at least be exploring integrated protection.
"We've proved the concept. Now we need the right partner to test, certify and scale it."
