The life-threatening injury to Phillip Hughes has prompted everyone in cricket - players, boards, local associations, parents - to take stock of the equipment that protects the head.

The managing director of sporting goods company Albion, Brendan Denning, says he has encountered resistance among players when it comes to wearing the most up-to-date model of helmet, and the latest standards introduced in the UK only address two of the three safety concerns identified in an International Cricket Council study of head injuries in cricket.

The concern that's not addressed in those guidelines is the need for better coverage when a batsman loses sight of the ball and turns his head, exposing a vulnerable spot below the helmet. NSW batsman Ben Rohrer was badly concussed when he was hit in a similar spot to Hughes during a Sheffield Shield game against Victoria on November 3, and is only listed to return to Sydney grade cricket this weekend after developing headaches and light-headedness.

Denning said the newer designs from Ayrtek (worn by England opener Michael Carberry last summer) and Masuri provided good coverage but most cricketers prefer a more traditional "look and feel". Hughes was wearing a helmet made by UK company Masuri, but not the most recent model.

"We need to do something to enforce change, because a lot of it has been reluctance from the playing group in terms of embracing the new stuff. I'm not just talking on behalf of Albion, I can state this on behalf of the main manufacturers, it's a tough gig trying to get them to [wear the latest helmets]," he said.

The two other safety concerns identified by the ICC were the ball fitting between the grille and the visor, and the grille failing or making contact with the face when the ball hit.

Helmets are compulsory for batting and wicketkeeping in junior cricket, and Cricket Australia supports the higher British safety standards ratified last year.

CA said the Masuri Vision series provided to Australian players meets these standards, but players can choose which brand of helmet to wear. "We'll continue to look at ways of improving safety standards for all players at all levels," it said in a statement.

Denning expressed frustration about a lack of enforcement from authorities.

"In the horseracing industry we've worked for four years on developing a new helmet for jockeys. The difference is they are going to police it. No one can get on the horse unless they have met the standards.

"We have had those conversations with Cricket Australia and other organisations for years and it's in the too-hard basket. I coach an under-11s team on a Friday night, who is the person who is checking every kid's helmet when they come out to bat or keep? It's a big challenge but other sports have found a way to ensure protective equipment is what it should be. Maybe this can be the catalyst to do something about it.

"I'm not saying every helmet is going to be able to prevent what happened to Phillip Hughes, but some models do it a hell of a lot better than others."

Ironically, the motorbike-style crash-helmet worn by Graham Yallop in 1978, which came down over his neck, probably offered the most protection, but the Australian was roundly booed by the Barbados crowd when he became the first cricketer to wear a helmet in a Test.

"I think what's going to be questioned is whether we can get the helmet better," said Cricket Victoria operations manager Shaun Graf. "The helmet didn't let anyone down, it's just the design that's worked well for years wasn't quite right. And it's ironic that the very first helmet that was worn, by Tony Greig in World Series Cricket, was a [motor]bike helmet that went round the ears and the back of the neck. And if he [Hughes] had been wearing that, he would have been fine."

While Denning says the helmets worn by Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner have a rear lip that covers more of the skull, he believes attitudes to the appearance of headgear have been slow to change.

Victorian spinner Bryce McGain upgraded to a space-age helmet for a couple of one-day games in 2009, prompting commentators to joke that he had left his Vespa at the gate. "I could hardly get it on to any cricketers' heads," said Denning. "Now a couple of brands have brought out something similar, and the science is really good, but it's a struggle to get players to embrace it."

"I wore it because it was safer, which is not to say I didn't trust the helmet I was wearing, which was an Albion as well," McGain said. "When I heard about why they had upgraded the technologies, why it fits better on your head, why it would deflect the ball better, why it covers more area, I just thought it made sense.

"I got ridiculed openly by commentators and when I went back to my club they said, 'What were you wearing? You looked ridiculous.' I was of the view that everyone will be wearing them but it was really the players that stopped it."

Victorian bowling coach Mick Lewis says two bad head injuries in a month is a compelling argument for helmets with more protection. "We go to the extent of having chest guards, arm guards, that sort of thing. It's the second time it's happened this season that someone's been hit in that exact area, so something's got to be looked at there," he said. "The guys like their helmet so they can still move their head 180 degrees, they like them light, but at the same time we've got to be wary of protecting the right part of your body."

In Allan Border's time, the temples were considered the most vulnerable spots. He only added a grille to his helmet when he was out of form against the West Indies, "and they were peppering me with short-pitched bowling". "I decided I was going to have to hook them, so I added the grille to the helmet in case I missed one," he writes in his book, Cricket as I see it.

Border was once struck a fierce blow to the back of the head by Dennis Lillee during a Sheffield Shield game. When he took off his cap it was full of blood, and he needed stitches. It makes the severity of Phillip Hughes' injury even harder to comprehend.