Wear neck guards or cop a fine, top Australian players told

Australian cricketers may face fines of $5000 or more during the World Cup and the home international season if they fail to comply with a new Cricket Australia mandate enforcing the use of neck guards on their helmets.

Nearly a decade after the traumatic death of Phillip Hughes at the SCG, recommendations for the use of stem guards to protect the neck at the back and sides of the helmet have been upgraded to a formal instruction, with penalties for non-compliance.