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[cesare_in]

Guys -  In your experience has there been any direct correlation of a bats performance w.r.t its weight?

I am currently using a bat that should be around 2lb 12oz to 2lb 13oz which plays awesome. The other one is great and way lighter at 2lb 8oz but has a limited sweetspot compared to the heavier one.

Very curious..

[Johng]

Bat speed has a lot to do with it. The lighter the bat the higher the bat speed but if your stronger and can maintain as good a bat speed well you will hit it longer.

[cleanbowled]

Yeah basically it works down to bat speed versus power. A heavier bat will (all things being equal) be more powerful, but a lighter bat can be swung with more acceleration. For each player the sweetspot in terms of weight to generate maximum force will be different. For example for a stronger player or a big guy, a heavy bat would be better as they don't lose much bat speed but gain additional force from the heavier bat. For a lighter guy, the penalty in terms of bat speed might outweigh any benefit from using a heavier bat. 

Having said that, one other thing to consider is that heavier bats can be much more forgiving, and the bat usually will have a much larger hitting zone or sweetspot (compare a 2lb 8 with a 3lb+ bat for example). You can also get away with much more in terms of mistimed shots.

[tim2000s]

What people also forget in this equation is that this is not a linear equation. In a straight line, conservation of momentum applies and all this discussion of weight versus speed is accurate, however, the ball rarely moves in a straight line.

If you need to adjust to a change in line, a heavier bat is really not going to help, because while that extra weight may be more forgiving when hitting the ball, you still have to get bat on ball. It's not as straight forward as "relative performance" as the system is far more dynamic than just weight and bat speed.

[WalkingWicket37]

At the end of the day it's down to the individual, not the bat. I use a 2lb7-2lb9 bat and can hit a fairly long ball. One of the big hitters in my side uses a 3lb bat. For me I'd barely be able to swing his and he's already told me I bat with a toothpick.

Forget all this heavier bat = better performance stuff and buy something you're comfortable using, that will give better performance than trying to use a bat too light or heavy for you because you think it will go better.

[cleanbowled]

Great point Tim, that is true, the system is of course far more dynamic, and you would need to account for the ability to adjust for things such as a swinging/seaming ball, deliveries of a different length (eg full vs short). It is very different to try and drive with a heavier than usual bat vs playing the hook and the pull for example.

I think it comes down to experimentation. In my opinion, if someone wanted to try a heavier bat, maybe go for something relatively cheap eg a Grade 3 or so bat, and if you find you get on well, then maybe migrate to that weight on a full scale basis.

One last thing to also note,  a heavier bat will also likely affect your stamina or endurance over a long innings. Hence while you may get on well in say a 20/20 where you only have to bat for 5-10 overs or so usually, if you were playing a 60 over match or something, you may find it affecting your game negatively over a longer innings. 

[lazza32]

Here's another conundrum. What happens if the lighter bat is bigger(more wood) than the heavier bat? I believe(maybe falsely) the more wood the more power.

[yogi206]

What people also forget in this equation is that this is not a linear equation. In a straight line, conservation of momentum applies and all this discussion of weight versus speed is accurate, however, the ball rarely moves in a straight line.

If you need to adjust to a change in line, a heavier bat is really not going to help, because while that extra weight may be more forgiving when hitting the ball, you still have to get bat on ball. It's not as straight forward as "relative performance" as the system is far more dynamic than just weight and bat speed.

it doesn't move if it is a leg stump full toss ;-)

[cleanbowled]

lazza, that is actually an interesting one, if I remember correctly one of the forum members actually experimented with that by getting a bat made from a denser cleft (and hence a small bat for the weight), and I think the general conclusions was that they were not much different. Wasn't that long ago either and a pretty interesting thread.

From a physics point of view, if F = MA, ie Force  = Mass x acceleration, assuming the bats were the same weight (and the characteristics of the wood used in both bats were similar), theoretically the force generated on impact with the ball should be identical or close enough anyway. Wood is of course a natural product so you could never make an absolutely perfect comparison, but Newtons law would suggest they ought to be similar in terms of hitting a ball.

[Khan]

I've used heavy bats since I started playing cricket for my club big kahuna 2.13 and biggest kahuna 3lb 1, but last year I used an GM apex limited edition 2lb 8 which is the lightest bat I've used, as for performance they all fly off the middle but I admit that I had a lot more confidence using the bigger heavier bats than I did the lighter one. As mentioned before it's all down to personal preference and what you feel comfortable using.

[charliemott]

Timing plays a huge part too, you can have the heaviest bat in the world but if you cant time the thing, it will go no where.

[cleanbowled]

Thought I just saw a post correcting me on the difference between mass and weight, weight is related of course to gravity whist mass is constant. Having said that weight is a function of the gravity on that mass so with gravity being the same on earth, I think you can still apply that equation from a practical perspective. Still I haven't opened up a physics text in over a decade, so I could be very wrong in my illustration

In any case from a cricket perspective, from my experience it does not matter much. I had an MSR weigh 3lb 2oz but it was not really all that massive as you might imagine, I think you might find bats around 2.10-2.12 that had bigger edges and spines than it because of lighter clefts, but it was pretty thick throughout (so very large sweetspot) and hit the ball like a canon. I think the size of a bat may have more to do with the confidence it gives you as a player - it never hurts to see a huge hunk of wood and of course that could help you play better if you are much more confident.

[Khan]

Timing plays a huge part too, you can have the heaviest bat in the world but if you cant time the thing, it will go no where.

That's was the hardest part going from heavy to light timing was way off and i couldn't get used to it at all, but I've just bought a monster of a bat for next season which I will show pics when it arrives in a week or so

[cleanbowled]

Its probably one of the biggest differences between us and professionals, they time the ball so sweetly and are able to find the middle so much more often compared to most of us.

[tim2000s]

it doesn't move if it is a leg stump full toss ;-)

If you'd seen the leg stump full tosses i was bowling last night, I'm sure you wouldn't agree... As when you saw them you would have been convinced they were going to reach you on off stump....