Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Bat Making => Topic started by: Howzat on October 01, 2008, 04:56:31 PM
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New laws on the manufacture of bats
The MCC has introduced new laws on the manufacture of bats, in an effort to maintain the traditional balance between bat and ball. In this article Laver & Wood consider the implications of these law changes for cricketers and bat manufacturers.
Law Changes
The laws do not change how bats are made, but they do determine what materials are allowed to be used, and how they are permitted to be used.
There main change is the outlawing of the carbon handle. The MCC felt that the carbon handle increased the bats power, giving batsmen an unfair advantage. Laver & Wood consider this to be something of an overkill for a number of reasons. The main reason is that it does not take into account the diminishing supply of cane world wide, cane that is not sustainably grown, and takes a long time to grow. Supply of good quality cane is finite, and without good cane bats will not perform properly. At some stage Laver & Wood expect manufacturers and the MCC to have to come to some sort of agreement about artificial materials to take into account the poor quality cane available.
Having seen numerous prototypes with different artificial inserts Laver & Wood have yet to see any totally artificial handle that comes close to canes performance, and believe that good quality cane provides the best performance, with the basic design not having changed since 1853. In an ideal world good quality cane would be available, and the traditional handles will continue to be available to all cricketers, but this is not the case. Laver & Wood consider that carbon handles have provided durability, rather than power, and for this reason the decision is not in the best interests of cricketers.
Carbon on the back of the bat has also been banned at the highest level. This is another decision based on history, rather than science. Having tested a number of bats with carbon on the back, Laver & Wood found that performance was not enhanced, but durability was. The improved durability was nowhere near as important as the improvements to the handle with carbon inserts, and manufacturers were more likely to use this as a selling feature than a performance feature.
Toe laminations, on the other hand, do offer considerable improvement in durability, as the toe, together with the handle, are the biggest break points. The design Laver & Wood has been using over the last five years is based on a Stuart Surridge design that is over forty years old, and it considerably enhances the durability of the bats. This insert is now banned in 1st class & International cricket, yet offers no performance gain – just a huge gain in durability.
Grading Bats
A bat with a laminated toe will last considerably longer, and will not add any distance to the distance the ball travels. Yet it is now graded “B” meaning it will not be permitted in 1st Class and International cricket. This is disappointing, as through being one of New Zealand’s largest bat repair businesses we constantly are repairing broken toes. Laver & Wood recommend toe laminations to all cricketers, as it will save bats from one yorker that could break the bat, and also protect against major toe damage when exposed to moisture.
From a purely commercial perspective, Laver & Wood are grateful to the MCC for the rule changes, as they will increase the number of bats with broken handles and toes that require repairing. This is in the best interests of the Laver & Wood repair workshop, but it is hard to see how this is in the best interests of cricketers with the price increases in bats that have already taken place and will do so again in the new season of 2009 by at least 10%.
A Bat Law Change Laver & Wood would like considered
If the MCC really wanted to maintain the balance between bat and ball it would take a step back and consider the factors that do alter that balance. The big one in the modern game is the bats used in Twenty20, which go through a secondary drying process. This drying process takes the bat from a moisture content of about 12% to 10-11%. The reduced moisture content means the bat appears far, far bigger, as the small change in moisture content means a big change in weight.
This allows bat makers to make a bat that performs unbelievably, hitting the ball a lot further than a standard 12% moisture content bat. The trade off is that the bats break, and break quickly. The standard 1000 runs per bat rule of thumb is defeated by the lower moisture content, and the bats last for a very short time. Pros hit the ball a lot further, and are earning so much money they don’t care about the replacement cost.
Taken from the L&W Batlore Newsletter, can be signed up for on their website.
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Yeah, I got that e-mail aswell, was just about to post lol. A good read and goes through quite alot!
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Read it as well....
I find it a bit strange....
"Laver & Wood consider that carbon handles have provided durability, rather than power, and for this reason the decision is not in the best interests of cricketers."
Here is another quote for you [I dont expect you to understand this but here goes there is an answer after it.....]
"In particular, it has been shown that a low weight, high stiffness, glass reinforced composite handle could raise the frequency by 33 per cent. It may also be feasible, with further changes to handle mass and stiffness and some changes to blade properties, to increase this frequency outside the excitation range of an impacting cricket ball (i.e. .1200 Hz). "
So what does that quote mean in laymans terms?
The result would be a reduction in energy absorption and significant increase in bat performance
Ok looking at again in relation to Glass Reinforced Plastic [GRP] vs Carbon Fibre: Carbon Firbe out performs GRP as it is inferior to Carbon Fibre in weight, toughness, elasticity, tensile and shear strength
"Results from test have shown that even lighter/stiffer materials for the handle, such as carbon fibre composites, could achieve even greater performance improvements."
Yep all that just from a handle!!!!! I think that is why it was banned ;)
Lets not forget Law 6 for Grade A 10% or less materials other than cane, wood and twine in the handle - so 10% of other materials can still be used. All is not lost with regard sto performance you just have think out of box
I won't bore you anymore ;D
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I should say I said this
I dont expect you to understand this but here goes there is an answer after it.....]
because it is quoted out of context
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I got this too, and i think the environmental sustainability point was pretty vaild. yet although they could use other types of wood. Any suggestions?
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The suggestion is that bat makers and makers of cricket gear and players get back to what the laws say and intend rather than trying to skirt around them by some 'novel' innovation.
I would like to thank modern pad makers though. You know the ones where there are fewer or no ridges on the pads themselves. Talk about making giving LBW's easy. Greatest service to umpiring in decades.
Oh and for the 10% rule let's not forget the grip is counted in that 10%.
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I worked in motor racing for a while and Laws are there to be interpreted to then benefit of the team / driver but still remain within the boundaries of acceptablity
Same here for the batsman and bat....
Oh and for the 10% rule let's not forget the grip is counted in that 10%.
See now your thinking out of the box
And any case Law 6 is as follows: [Appendix E]
Materials in handle: As a proportion of the total volume of the handle, materials other
than cane, wood or twine are restricted to one-tenth for Grades A and B and one-fifth for
Grade C. Such materials must not project more than 3.25 in/8.26cm into the lower
portion of the handle.
So that is Materials in the handle not the covering....
Binding and covering of handle: The permitted continuation beyond the junction of the
upper and lower portions of the handle is restricted to a maximum, measured along the
length of the handle, of
2.5 in/6.35 cm for the twine binding
2.75 in/6.99 cm for the covering grip
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Hmmm, am I?
Now are you sure the covering as such is not covered as part of what you describe?
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Shall we agree to disagree art? As from what I can see [http://www.lords.org/data/files/law-6-and-appendix-e-10183.pdf] it isn't included as part of the handle and is solely there for the purpose of gripping, therefore it should not damage the ball. Not that you'd want to get hit on the grip that is!
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I raised this question several months ago. I have two opposing answers lol.
As for me, if it has a grading stamp on it that is enough. The last thing an umpire really needs to be is a policeman of peripheral things. Next thing someone will call for is for umpires to weigh the match ball lol.
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Mate if we get to that stage, theres serious problems. So basically its restricting the amount of grips people can have on their bats. Is that true or am I misinterpreting?
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Sickening really that they're pretending they've got anyone's interest at heart but their own. The environment, ffs?
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not sure what you mean?
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Neither am I. Any chance of rewording that mate?
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i assume you are talking about the MCC... not sure what you meant by "The environment, ffs?"
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FFS = For F*%$s Sake
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I never thought I'd hear that from you Mike :)