Why do people love Match Worn Cricket Gear?

What is the difference between Player Issue and Match Worn?

A very common question asked is what the differences between Player Issue and Match Worn are. ‘Match Worn’ is self explanatory in the sense it is what is worn by players whilst playing matches. For clothing items, these are playing tops and bottoms that have been worn during the game, whereas for equipment it would be referred to as Match Used or Game Used. ‘Player Issue’ has a few more intricacies with there being a broader range the phrase covers. Any playing shirts that are either brand new or unworn can be classed as ‘Player Issue’ or ‘Match Issue’. However all training clothing are only classified as ‘Player Issue’. A common example of this would be if a player became injured or withdrew from the competition but had all their kit made. 

Do you consider player issue gear as valuable or only match used?

It's very subjective when it comes to value. In terms of the financial side of it playing shirts would comfortably be top of the list. But valuables can be talked about in a variety of different ways. Player Issue training tops can be extremely valuable due to their limited availability and people tend to prefer the training items to wear. Plus if you had a small quantity of them, then the value in rarity terms would be higher than others. In short, the word valuable is unique and personal to each person as to which shirts they like the most.

Do people buy for collecting, wearing or for their passion?

Surprisingly from my experience people seem to buy to wear the items. Over time I’ve learnt that training tops, particularly from franchise teams that adopt quite colourful designs, have been both best sellers and the most common item for people to wear. Bold designed training wear has been super desirable as people like wearing what players train in, and it is a more cost effective way to own Player Issued items without spending a considerable amount more on the Match worn options in the same franchise or competition.

What separates a good item to a great one? 

Again, this is also a very subjective and personal type of discussion, but if you think about it rationally then it would be pretty clear in my opinion that any international shirts worn by players you would consider ‘household names’ would always be classed as a great item. But you could flip this completely and look at it from a different perspective and view it from the sentimental side. If you asked a variety of people who have friends who play professional cricket, a lot would class one of their Match Worn Shirts as a great item. But this does all boil down to personal preference. 

Why should someone follow along now rather than later?

Now is the perfect time to join the other customers and followers with all the new stock we have coming. With the UK cricket season now fully up and running, there is plenty of opportunity to wear some outrageous cricket attire to nets and join an ever growing community. Particularly with the IPL coming towards an end, it means plenty of that will come our way. Everyone wants a rather limited and cool training top to wear at nets. My advice would be to make a note of our website and social pages as The Cricket Plug continues to grow its presence both as an online store and as a growing blog and media outlet in the cricket sphere.