Cricket is the only sport where you can spend six hours standing in direct sun and still call it a game. Aussie summer, no shade, and a hard red ball coming at you out of a bright sky. If you are fielding at deep square with cheap servo sunnies on, you are making a hard job harder.
Here is what actually matters when you are picking cricket sunglasses, without the marketing fluff.
Why cricket is brutal on your eyes
A full day in the field is UV exposure most sports never come close to. You are outside from morning warm ups to the last over, usually between 10am and 6pm, which is exactly when UV is at its worst. Australia has some of the highest UV levels on the planet, and eye damage from sun exposure is cumulative. It adds up over every season you play.
Then there is the practical stuff: glare off the pitch, a white sightscreen frying your eyes between balls, and the small matter of tracking a ball travelling at pace against a bright blue sky. Good lenses are not a fashion call in cricket. They are equipment.
What actually matters in cricket sunglasses
Lens category: contrast beats darkness
The instinct is to grab the darkest lens you can find. For cricket, that is usually wrong. What you want in the field is contrast, so the ball pops against the sky and the grass. Cat 2 lenses let in more light and sharpen contrast, which makes them the pick for ball tracking. Cat 3 is the workhorse for full Aussie sun. If you want the full breakdown, read our guide to Cat 2 vs Cat 3 vs Cat 4 lenses.
Polarisation: yes, with one honest note
Polarised lenses kill reflected glare off the pitch, the covers and any water nearby. For long days in the field they reduce eye fatigue noticeably. One honest note: a small number of players say polarised lenses change how they read shiny surfaces, like a brand new ball or an LED scoreboard. Most people never notice. If you are a purist, try them at training before a game day.
Fit: they cannot move when you do
Sprinting around the boundary, diving at point, looking straight up under a skier. If your sunnies shift when your head tilts back, you will drop the catch and cop it from the whole team. Look for a lightweight frame that grips without squeezing. Our RYZE frames weigh 28.8 grams in TR90, which is light enough that you stop noticing them about two overs in. They also sit fine under a wide brim hat or a baggy, which is where most cricketers actually wear them.
Which RYZE works for cricket
All RYZE colourways are polarised with UV400 protection, so the difference is lens tint and how much light gets through.
For ball tracking and fielding: Cat 2
RYZE Viper has a green Cat 2 lens that sharpens contrast, which is exactly what you want when you are picking up a red ball against sky and turf. RYZE Nova runs a cherry pink Cat 2 lens that boosts contrast and depth. Both are the pick for fielders and anyone playing morning or late afternoon games.
For full midday sun: Cat 3
RYZE Eclipse (ice blue, Cat 3) and RYZE Sol (gold mirror, Cat 3) cut more light for those 40 degree January Saturdays where the pitch is basically a mirror.
A note on Cat 4
RYZE Black Out is a Cat 4 lens that lets in just 6% of light. It is brilliant for extreme glare but it is too dark for ball sports in most conditions, and too dark for driving home after the game. Keep it for the beach, the boat and the hike, not the crease.
The honest caveats
Batting in a helmet? Most batters take their sunnies off when the lid goes on, and that is fair. Grilles and frames do not always play nice. Sunglasses in cricket earn their keep in the field, at training and for umpires and scorers doing long days in the sun.
Day-night games are the other one. Once the lights take over, take the sunnies off. No lens category makes a white ball under lights easier to see.
The boring but important stuff
Every pair of RYZE sunglasses is $100 AUD flat. Polarised UV400 lenses, 28.8 gram TR90 frame, hard case, pouch and cleaning cloth included. Free shipping Australia-wide and 30 day returns if they are not right. Our return rate sits at 1.97%, against an industry average around 19%, which tells you most people who buy a pair keep the pair.
Sort your eyes out before the season does it for you.