What Are Batting Inner Gloves and Why Do You Need Them?
Batting inner gloves are thin cotton or synthetic gloves worn underneath your main batting gloves. They serve three purposes: moisture management (wicking sweat away from your hands), improved grip (the thin fabric prevents your hands from slipping inside the gloves), and impact absorption (an extra layer between your fingers and the ball).
Most professional cricketers wear inners for every innings. At the club level, about 40% of players use them — the other 60% either don't know they exist or think they're only for "serious" players. The reality: a $5-12 pair of inners will make your $50-100 batting gloves last longer, feel better, and smell significantly less at the end of a hot day in the field.
Full Finger vs Fingerless Inner Gloves
Full Finger Inners
Full finger inners cover each finger completely, like a thin winter glove. They provide maximum sweat absorption and the most consistent grip surface for your outer gloves. The full coverage also adds a small amount of padding — not enough to substitute for proper batting gloves, but enough to reduce friction blisters on long innings.
Best for: Players who sweat heavily, batsmen who regularly face 50+ balls, and anyone who's ever had batting gloves go slippery in the second hour of a innings. Also recommended for humid conditions (Florida, Texas, Georgia — basically everywhere in the US from June through September).
Fingerless Inners
Fingerless inners cover the palm and back of the hand but leave the fingers exposed. They provide palm grip and sweat absorption while giving your fingers direct contact with the outer glove — some players prefer this because they can feel the bat handle more directly through the glove. Fingerless inners are cooler (less fabric trapping heat) and easier to put on and take off quickly.
Best for: Players who prioritize bat feel over maximum sweat protection, shorter-format players (T20 specialists), and anyone who finds full finger inners too warm in summer. Also the standard choice for wicket-keepers who need maximum finger dexterity.
Batting Inner Gloves Available at TopCricketStore
| Product | Type | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gray-Nicolls Adult Batting Inners Full Finger | Full Finger | Adult | $11.99 |
| Gray-Nicolls Adult Batting Inners Fingerless | Fingerless | Adult | $11.99 |
| Gray-Nicolls Junior Batting Inners Fingerless | Fingerless | Junior | $9.99 |
| SG Campus Junior Batting Inner Gloves Half Finger | Half Finger | Junior | $4.99 |
| EM GT 3.0 Adult Batting Inner Gloves | Full Finger | Adult | $9.99 |
| EM GT 3.0 Junior Batting Inner Gloves | Full Finger | Junior | $7.99 |
| Kookaburra Full Finger Junior Batting Inners | Full Finger | Junior | $9.99 |
Batting Inners vs Wicket-Keeping Inners: Know the Difference
This is a common source of confusion. Batting inners and keeping inners look similar but serve different purposes:
- Batting inners: Worn inside batting gloves. Focus on sweat absorption and grip. Usually cotton or cotton-blend fabric. Padded or unpadded depending on model. The Gray-Nicolls and EM GT inners above are batting inners.
- Keeping inners: Worn inside wicket-keeping gloves. Focus on finger protection and impact absorption. Often have silicone grip pads on the palms and reinforced finger sections. They're worn by wicket-keepers when standing up to the stumps.
You can wear keeping inners for batting if you want extra finger protection, but batting inners are thinner and give better bat feel. For most players, the right choice is batting inners for batting, keeping inners for keeping.
How to Choose the Right Size Inner Gloves
Inner gloves should fit snugly — like a second skin, not a loose sock. If they're too big, the fabric bunches up inside your batting gloves and creates pressure points. If they're too small, they restrict blood flow and make your hands cold (counterproductive for batting feel).
Adult sizing: Most adult inners come in one size that fits hands from 7.5-9.5 inches (measured from wrist crease to middle fingertip). Gray-Nicolls and EM adult inners are generously sized and stretch to accommodate larger hands.
Junior sizing: Junior inners are sized for players aged 8-14 with smaller hand spans. The SG Campus Junior inners at $4.99 are the most affordable option for growing players who will size up within a season or two.
Care and Maintenance of Inner Gloves
Inners get disgusting fast — they absorb sweat for 3-4 hours at a time and then sit in a dark kit bag breeding bacteria. Here's how to keep them fresh:
- Wash after every 2-3 uses: Machine wash cold, gentle cycle. Air dry — never put inners in the dryer, the heat shrinks the fabric and degrades any elastic.
- Air out between innings: Don't stuff damp inners back in your kit bag. Clip them to the outside of your bag to air-dry between innings.
- Have two pairs: Serious players rotate two pairs of inners — one in use, one clean. At $5-12 per pair, this is a trivial investment for the comfort upgrade.
- Replace when the fabric thins: Inners typically last one season of regular play. When you can see your skin through the palm fabric, it's time for a fresh pair.
Why Buy from TopCricketStore?
We're a real cricket store in Edison, New Jersey — not a drop-shipper. Every product on this page ships from our warehouse, which means real inventory, real availability, and real humans you can call when you have questions. We stock over 2,000 cricket and multi-sport products from 15+ authorized brands including SS, SG, Gray-Nicolls, Kookaburra, Shrey, and Dunlop.
Free shipping on orders over $100. Seven-day returns if something doesn't fit or isn't what you expected. And if you're local to New Jersey, you can pick up your order in person at our Edison warehouse — walk in, see the gear, and walk out ready to play.
Need Help Choosing? Talk to a Real Person
Buying sports equipment online is hard — you can't feel the weight, check the grip, or test the bounce through a screen. That's why we make it easy to talk to a human. Call or WhatsApp us during business hours and we'll answer your specific questions. We've been fitting cricketers, squash players, and table tennis enthusiasts for years — we know the gear because we use the gear.
No upselling. No script-reading. Just honest advice from people who play the same sports you do. If a $30 option does 90% of what the $150 option does for your level, we'll tell you. Our repeat customers come back because we gave them the right recommendation the first time.
Batting Inners vs Golf Gloves vs Bare Hands: What Players Actually Do
There's an ongoing debate in cricket about what goes inside batting gloves. Here's what real players use:
- Proper batting inners (Gray-Nicolls, EM, SG): The professional standard. Designed specifically for cricket — the fabric thickness, seam placement, and sweat absorption are optimized for the exact hand positions of a batting grip. This is what 95% of professional cricketers wear.
- Golf gloves: Some club players use a single golf glove on their bottom hand. Golf gloves provide excellent grip but zero sweat absorption — your hand steams inside the glove. They're also significantly more expensive ($15-25 per glove) than proper batting inners.
- Bare hands: About 40% of club cricketers don't wear inners. This works fine for shorter innings (under 30 balls) or cold weather. In summer heat or long innings, bare hands inside batting gloves become slippery, and the leather inner lining of the gloves absorbs sweat and degrades faster.
- Wicket-keeping inners (borrowed): Some batsmen borrow keeping inners for batting. They work — the padded fingers add impact protection — but they're thicker than batting inners and change the feel of the bat handle. If you're used to thin inners, keeping inners feel bulky.
One more thing — if you're playing in hot conditions (common across the southern US from May through September), pack a spare pair of inners in your kit bag. After 30 overs in 90-degree heat, your first pair will be soaked through. Swapping to a dry pair at the drinks break is a small comfort upgrade that makes a real difference in the final hour of your innings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do professional cricketers wear inner gloves?
Almost all of them. Watch any international match and you'll see batsmen removing their batting gloves between overs, revealing inners underneath. Joe Root, Virat Kohli, and Steve Smith all wear full finger inners. They're standard equipment at the professional level for sweat management and consistent grip.
Can I wear batting inners without outer gloves?
Never. Batting inners provide zero impact protection — they're a thin cotton layer, not armor. Facing a cricket ball at any speed with only inners on your hands will result in broken fingers. Inners are designed to be worn INSIDE proper batting gloves, not as standalone hand protection.
Do inners make my batting gloves fit tighter?
Yes, especially full finger inners. They add 1-2mm of thickness inside the glove. If your batting gloves are already a tight fit, go with fingerless inners or size up your outer gloves. Most players find that modern batting gloves have enough room for inners — they're designed with this use case in mind.
What material is best for inner gloves?
Cotton and cotton-blend fabrics are the standard. They absorb sweat well and breathe naturally. Synthetic materials (polyester, spandex blends) wick moisture faster but can feel clammy against the skin in humid conditions. The Gray-Nicolls and EM inners use cotton-rich blends that balance absorption with durability.
My hands sweat a lot — will inners actually help?
Yes, dramatically. This is the primary use case for inners. Without inners, sweat pools inside your batting gloves, the leather inner lining gets slick, and your grip on the bat handle becomes unreliable — especially after 30-40 minutes of batting. Inners absorb that sweat before it reaches the glove lining. Heavy sweaters should use full finger inners and rotate to a dry pair at the drinks break.
Are junior inners worth it, or should I just buy adult size?
Buy junior inners for junior players. Adult inners on small hands bunch up at the fingertips and create discomfort inside the batting gloves. At $4.99-9.99 for junior inners from SG, EM, and Kookaburra, there's no reason to compromise on fit.
Ready to upgrade your grip? Browse batting gloves and inners. Free shipping on orders over $100.