It seems hardly a week passes without at least one of the tabloids commenting on a sportman’s follicularly challenged status and the various treatments they have undergone. To date though the focus is firmly on the sportsman’s head and not his face. It might not be long though before attention drifts to having some “work” done on the beard, at least in cricket.
Hairy Vikings?
Whilst the sport has always seen the occasional bearded player, think Mike Gatting and sometimes even Ian Botham there is now a veritable plethora of players representing their country with beards that even the most hirsute Viking would be proud of.
Moeen Ali was even nikcknamed “the beard that is feared” by Ben Stokes after a successful century against Pakistan. This clearly had such a profound effect on Stokes that he decided to grow a particularly bushy ginger one himself (although still not a patch on Ali’s).
Beard transplant
So, what can a baby faced cricketer do to get in on the act if they can’t grow a huge manly beard? Well help may be at hand in the form of a beard transplant. It’s the same principle as the more traditional hair transplant but hair is taken from the back and sides of the head and migrated to the face.
The procedure is remarkably successful and on the increase, with one New York surgeon claiming to be carrying out 3 per week (as opposed to 4 or 5 per year a decade ago). Typically, the recipient can expect to be shaving with two weeks as the hair starts to grow and it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect a full beard within a couple of months.
How much do you have to stump up?
So now, when it comes to facial hair all the top cricketers can achieve a level playing field, as long as they are prepared to stump up at least £5000 for the procedure.
