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[niceonechoppy]

Just noticed this on one of the Chase bats:



Is the insert simply provided to bring extra strength to the area at the bottom?

How deep does the insert run along the bat for?

How long does it take a bat maker to do this?

Thanks

Choppy.

[Howzat]

Its a bit of hard wood inserted into the toe. If the toe cracks the hardwood will not, this prevents the toe from breaking all the way through. Wont take long to be added, slot just needs to be sawed in the bottom and piece of hardwood glued in.

[niceonechoppy]

It seems to be a simple, but very effective idea. The logic behind it does make a lot of sense, after all the toe is very vulnerable to those dreaded bat breaker balls, amongst other things....

[tim2000s]

Laver and Wood do it too.

[uknsaunders]

shoot me down here but I thought bats had to be 100% willow, or is that 100% wood?

[FattusCattus]

100% wood - bat handles are made from a form of cane.

[peplow]

100% wood - bat handles are made from a form of cane.

But then why is lamination illegal?

[FattusCattus]

Because part of the lamination process is a layer of glue (or some other substance) within the blade.

I think gluing the handle to the blade is ok but a blade made from 2 parts and glued isn't.

Someone with a better grasp of the law than me will explain far, far better.

[peplow]

Ahhh that makes sense

The laws confuse me

[tim2000s]

http://www.lords.org/laws-and-spirit/laws-of-cricket/laws/law-6-the-bat,1027,AR.html

Bat laws.... Basically you can't insert anything into the blade other than for protection against damage of the toe/sides on Type B and C bats and must use minimal adhesives.

What are type A, B and C? They relate to the level of cricket at which the bat can be used. Type A is all levels, B and C are effectively poorer quality bats that can't be used in first class games.

So what does this mean for this chase? Well if you apply the law strictly, it shouldn't be used in a first class match. Been trying to find the "local governing body" rules about non-first class cricket, and I'd have to pass you to the batmakers for that as I haven't found them.

From the MCC announcement:

Table to show the various characteristics of Grade A, B and C bats.

Bat Characteristic                                                                                                               Grade A Grade B Grade C
10% or less materials other than cane, wood and twine in the handle                                             ✓           ✓          ✓
More than 10% but not more than 20% materials other than cane, wood and twine in the handle         ✘           ✘          ✓
More than 20% materials other than cane, wood and twine in the handle                                         ✘           ✘          ✘
Anti-Scuff fitted (must not cause unacceptable damage to the ball)                                                ✓           ✓          ✓
Blade covered with cloth                                                                                                         ✘           ✘          ✓
Use of non-solid material (e.g. varnish) to improve resistance to moisture and mask natural
blemishes.                                                                                                                            ✓          ✓          ✓
Toe insert                                                                                                                             ✘          ✓          ✓
Side inserts                                                                                                                           ✘          ✓          ✓

The guidance on the ECB website (here http://www.ecb.co.uk/ecb/ecb-association-of-cricket-officials/guides-to-law-6,302767,EN.html) suggests that the toe insert in a chase bat disqualifies it from being a Grade A bat as these two documents both say that Grade A cannot have toe inserts:
http://static.ecb.co.uk/files/changes-to-the-law-concerning-cricket-bats-players-10220.pdf
http://static.ecb.co.uk/files/changes-to-the-law-concerning-cricket-bats-umpires-10221.pdf

It also states that it is up to the manufacturer to state whether a bat is Grade A, B or C, but that the MCC has to agree the grading. M&H grade the S6 as A, which means that the MCC has agreed this too. It does raise some interesting questions with regard to just how much wiggle room is being applied in the ongoing implementation of these laws.

[Tom]

The MCC don't agree to the type you class a bat as, however they apparently perform random checks to see if they conform to the type noted.

The laws are very confusing and I'd imagine a number of the guys on this forum don't have a bat which conforms. The grip for example can only go .25" past the binding otherwise it's illegal

[procricket]

chase sponsored players(first class) do not have the insert in as there not allowed it