91Èȱ¬

Somerset batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore said he wears a neck brace to try and minimise the impact of a head injury after spending six months out with a "bad concussion" two years ago.

The 29-year-old got the idea to try the collar-style device after seeing players in American football wearing them.

"I had a bad concussion a couple of years ago where I was out for six months so I figured if there's anything that can help right now, but also post-cricket," he told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Somerset.

"You don't want to be having head issues and I figured I'd try it."

Kohler-Cadmore has been wearing the brace and said it now "doesn't bother" him in any way.

The brace is designed to apply light pressure to the neck and increase blood volume in the head, helping to reduce brain movement that can come from impact and therefore minimise injury.

However, there have been about its effectiveness.

"At the start it takes a bit of getting used to, it's just like putting an arm guard on or a thigh pad when you first go from kids cricket to playing men's cricket and it hurts a bit more," Kohler-Cadmore said.

"If there's something that can help me and it doesn't bother me in any way, try it and get used to it."

Kohler-Cadmore suffered the concussion while playing for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League in early 2022.

The then Yorkshire player missed the start of the County Championship season as he recovered and while he had faith he would return to cricket at the time there was "no guarantee".

"I saw specialists and they were like every head injury is different, some take a week, some take a month, some take a year, some don't recover," he said.

"There was always the belief in myself that I'd come back but when it takes a bit longer and you have setbacks there are those doubts.

"For me, it was always doing everything I could to get back. The specialist was extra cautious and gave me a prolonged back-to-play."

English county cricket has tightened up its protocols around concussion significantly in recent years.

Replacements were introduced in 2018 for players with a concussion or suspected concussion, neck guards became mandatory on helmets in county cricket, and last year the ECB announced all professional players would be given new custom-fit helmets, designed using 3D technology.

"As a player you've got so much more confidence if you get a knock, the medical staff are straight out to see you," Kohler-Cadmore said.