Black Caps great Kane Williamson launches new sports protection brand
Thursday, 12 March 2026
Kane Williamson has faced 18,198 deliveries in test cricket - but there’s two balls in particular that are very important to him.
A broken protective ‘box’ suffered during a test versus South Africa at the Basin Reserve in 2012 occupied the mind of the Black Caps great afterwards to the extent that on Thursday he launched Cover - a new sports protection brand.
The marketing said it’s been “created to modernise and dramatically improve protective gear across cricket and other high-impact sports”.
Williamson helped assemble a team to use science-backed design into the sports protection category which he felt had changed very little in decades.
The company is now releasing its first product: a New Zealand-made premium alloy box, “engineered to withstand the extreme impacts of high speed projectiles across multiple hard ball sports including cricket, hockey, lacrosse, and baseball”.
It was early in Williamson’s international career, when a Dale Steyn delivery split his box in half.
“It was extremely painful and it just absolutely dropped me,” Williamson said.
“I was hit, my box split, and that made it pretty clear that the protection players were relying on wasn’t up to the demands of the modern game.
That started the idea to create a product which can actually provide the protection required.”
Australian captain Mitch Marsh was last month ruled out of the start of the T20 World Cup after being hit in the box by a quick delivery in training.
Cover co-founder Jason Low oversaw the initial development and testing of the box. The result is a high-strength alloy shell paired with layered foam, built to absorb impact and stay secure during play.
“In testing, our box has handled ball speeds well over 200 kilometres an hour, while most existing options start to fail at around 100. That margin of safety gives players real confidence when they’re out there.”
The business is backed by a group of investors including New Zealand Cricket, while former Black Cap Grant Elliott is leading the organisation’s commercial programme.
“We’ve put the box in front of a wide range of cricketers, from club cricket through to elite, and the response has been extremely positive,” said Elliott.
‘In my view, it’s the best box in the world.“
Williamson has been wearing the product throughout the summer and says the difference is obvious.
“A few months ago I took a quick one flush in the box and I remember thinking ‘that should have hurt more than it did’. The most important factor is that it gives you confidence.”
The Cover box is manufactured in New Zealand with the company also retailing a strap to hold the box in place. The products are now available for purchase, with additional protective categories to follow.