Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Off-the-shelf companies => Gray Nicolls => Topic started by: Tom on November 13, 2008, 12:49:45 AM
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TWENTY20 has turned cricket on its head; now it's turning the bat around, inspiring a revolutionary design to enable batsmen to hit the ball with both sides of the blade.
Batsmen, including Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds, have been experimenting in practice with using the back of the bat but have been restricted by its angular shape. Even so, Australian captain Ricky Ponting indicated it was the type of innovation Australia's players had to explore.
That may become more viable now with bat manufacturer Gray-Nicolls confirming yesterday the development of a prototype with a smaller, flattened hitting area on the reverse side.
Batmaker Stuart Kranzbuhler was uncertain whether Test batsmen would consider the new model but young hitters, looking for an advantage in Twenty20 cricket, are already interested.
Certainly Kevin Pietersen will find it hard to ignore. The England captain raised eyebrows earlier this year when he twice switched from right-hander to left-hander mid-delivery and hit both balls for six in a Twenty20 match.
"It's a pretty unconventional shot (you play off the back) so I think true batsmen won't even look at doing something like that," said Kranzbuhler. "It would really be a player that's developed himself purely for Twenty20 cricket who would play that sort of shot."
Kranzbuhler said the new bat would meet International Cricket Council specifications and could be made without reducing hitting power from the front. Pressing the back would make it about 10 millimetres thinner.
"We've looked at having an area on the back of the bat that's pressed as well (as the front), just in the centre area. That's as far as we've got and we've made a few prototypes but they look pretty rank," he said.
(http://images.theage.com.au/ftage/ffximage/2008/11/12/wbCRICbat_narrowweb__300x450,0.jpg)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/cricket/batting-both-ways-a-twenty20-revolution/2008/11/12/1226318743492.html
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Warsop did this many years ago and it was a miss. I don't see the point, I have always played the reverse sweep and paddle over the keeper along with an awful shot that starts with the bat pointing at cover and coming back towards fine leg where the ball should go... I don't need a new bat, just some decent coaching.
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ummmmm, yeah, leave this stuff to aero GN
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I think that's a decent enough idea but i can't see it really taking off.
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Good idea. But they will have to get a pro to endorse it. especially if it is aimed at the younger end of the market
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It will not work because your hands change position to switch hit and this would not need that doing so the feel would be alien as well as the shot. Try the switch hit now with an imaginary bat and don't move your hands from your normal position, no power, no point.
The reverse sweep and paddle are possible but no easier than the current method plus there is no way it would be as good a bat for every other shot as a standard one.
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Damn I couldn't find this before I posted somewhere else but here you go...
opps... here this one
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&vid=96686015-8f02-4b72-ad90-8d37c0dcc47d
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there is a video of mark taylor trying the bat out on that website, I would pist a link but it won't work.
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Just another gimmick in my eyes!
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lol looks, umm
good?
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profile looks very similar to my scoop 2000 but without a deeper scoop in the middle
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Cricket bats are becoming unrecognisable with the Mongoose and this. It seems like a bit of an unnecessary idea as players are used to playing with only one side. Maybe it's one for the younger kids who haven't cemented all their shots yet.
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http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23890061-5001023,00.html (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23890061-5001023,00.html)