American sports apparel and equipment manufacturer Nike launched a new cricket shoe in Mumbai on Thursday. The 'Air Zoom Yorker', as the shoe is called, has been specially developed for fast bowlers.
New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond and Indian pacer S Sreesanth unveiled product.
"We have done a lot of research by inviting New Zealand bowlers Shane Bond and Jeff Wilson to our headquarters in Oregon. We have developed the footwear after studying the load a fast bowler's feet takes while bowling ball after ball," Nike's senior developer Chris Cook said at the launch.
The Air Zoom Yorker, US size 11, weights around 14 ounces [around 409 grams], nearly half the weight of the standard cricket shoe that players use today. It is reinforced with the Zoom Air cushioning at the heel and forefront to reduce cleat pressure.
Cook said high degree of research in different cricket-playing countries went into the making of the shoe. In addition, biomechanical studies on bowling and batting action, conducted at Nike's research facility in Beaverton, Oregon, have also been incorporated in the design of the shoe.
At present the shoe is on the high-end scale for elite buyers and costs Rs 8,900 a pair.
Cook said veteran South African pace bowler Shaun Pollock, who has a perennial ankle problem, and had also interacted with his team and tried out the shoes.
