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[Johnny]

If you have a 2.10 with a good pick up and a 2.10 with a bad pick up, should it make any difference to any fatigue felt in your arms?

Surely, if you batted 20 overs with either of them, you've still physically lugged the same weight of wood about for that time?

[Talisman]

If it was carrying a dead weight then Yes you would be equally tired with both, but if it was a case of holding a 25KG weight with arms outstretched or against your chest which would tire you earliest?

[tim2000s]

That's right, just as if you have a 3 lb monster that picked up around the same as a 2.10 you would become fatigued more quickly.

[Talisman]

The lower the centre of gravity in the bat the more effort is required to use it.

[Johnny]

but is a good/bad pick up just a case of where the middle on a bat is?

[Talisman]

Not the middle but possibly related, it is all about distribution, the centre of gravity.

[tim2000s]

And so you can break it in to two parts.

1. A bat with a good pick up wil be less tiring to use than one of the same weight with a poor pick up.

2. A heavier bat will be more tiring to use than a lighter bat with a similar pick up.

[AlRidd]

Ok, this might not make sense but bear with me!

If I had a 2lb 10 bat with a low middle (m+h solution for example) and it picked up heavier because of this.... If I were to add a load of lead tape to the handle would that make the centre of gravity higher and therefore make the bat pick up lighter? Imagine the bat now weighs 2lb 13 but now picks up nicely which bat would create less fatigue? Assuming the 2lb 13 one creates more fatigue does it compensate for that with the improvement in pick up? Is there some sort of equation including dead weight, fatigue and pick up which could be applied to bats for an optimum dead weight and pick up?

I hope that makes sense!

[keysersolze]

This looks and sounds like a question for Norbs!!!!? I remember something about first moment and second moment of area and inertia and bending moments  at Uni but i think Mike (Talisman) has it in one in his answers.

[j.f.101]

As far as i understand it, the lower the bats centre of mass, the further the centre of mass is from your top hand around which the bat pivots. so to make the bat rotate around the top hand by the same amount, you need to put more force on the handle with your lower hand. A counter-weight has the effect of adding to this force from the bottom hand, and causing the bat to pivot more about the top hand. this means you can have more weight or a lower centre of mass without making the pickup heavier and without increaing fatigue.

In your pickup though, most people also raise the entire bat up a bit rather than solely rotating it around the top hand. The greater the weight of the bat, the more force you need in your arms to pull the bat up and so the more tiring this action is. In this respect then, adding a counterweight will only make the bat heavier and so make pickup more tiring.

[Talisman]

Counter balance does not work, only a placebo and for the weak minded.

[alexrickyponting]

Counter balance does not work, only a placebo and for the weak minded.

oi watch your lip mister, ill go take mine off now 

[Blazer]

Sorry to bring up this old topic but with a heavy bat wouldn't the bat swing be assisted more by gravity during downswing instead of having to use arms to give some momentum and there similar fatigue using a light weight bat ?. Another question if I may please is adding counter balance to improve pick up , does it help with cross batted shot vs a heavy bat with no counter balance ?

[uknsaunders]

Sorry to bring up this old topic but with a heavy bat wouldn't the bat swing be assisted more by gravity during downswing instead of having to use arms to give some momentum and there similar fatigue using a light weight bat ?. Another question if I may please is adding counter balance to improve pick up , does it help with cross batted shot vs a heavy bat with no counter balance ?

It's not that simple and Tim is the expert on this. I think the extra weight could also reduce the swing speed with your arms having to work harder to swing the bat, even with a minor amount of additional momentum thanks to gravity. I know from experience that my backlift reduces and therefore the speed the bat comes through the ball, when using a heavier bat. Counter balance will move the centre of balance up the bat, so will make the bat feel lighter when swinging it. However, it's still the same weight and you will still fatigue as quickly. I think a counter balance will make a difference if the bat is an oz heavier but it won't change a bat 3oz into something much lighter.

[Blazer]

So am I right in thinking that counter balance does not help with cross bat shots ?. This whole bat weight vs muscle fatigue is worth looking into for someone researching in biomechanics.