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[Percy]

Mate just give up, there's no way you'd be able to regulate the selling of Lams, and there's no reason selling them should be illegal anyway.
Slazenger make their huge Lams out if 2 clefts and market them as a training aid, should Mike Ashley be bunged in the tower for this??

In this case "Yes"!

[Vitas Cricket]

Yeah he still has to get the ball on the bat but once he does that 2 runs become 4 runs , a single becomes two , I don't get why it's so hard to comprehend?

It's not like everyone who plays club cricket are all walking wickets who can't get bat on the ball.

Can't say I've ever seen any evidence to back this up. It is widely discussed that lams perform 'better' - but to what degree?

Having used a few i would say they are nice bats, the ball comes off the bat nicely, but are they 100% better than a normal bat? No.

The difference is probably there, though hard to prove, it is marginal, a few percentage points at best.

[mini998]

I think you are seriously overestimating the capabilities of a laminated bat. They aren't like one of those skyer bats, the ball might travel slightly quicker off it but I doubt that every shot the batsman hits will turn twos into fours.

Did I say every shot? a batsman who score 50 with a normal bat might end up with 70 with a rubber inserted bat, that's enough to make difference in a match.

Seriously rubber inserts in a cricket bat? why are we even having this discussion? can't believe people are defending this idea.

[mini998]

Can't say I've ever seen any evidence to back this up. It is widely discussed that lams perform 'better' - but to what degree?

Having used a few i would say they are nice bats, the ball comes off the bat nicely, but are they 100% better than a normal bat? No.

The difference is probably there, though hard to prove, it is marginal, a few percentage points at best.

there , unfair advantage , it should be the end of it.

[TangoWhiskey]

Did I say every shot? a batsman who score 50 with a normal bat might end up with 70 with a rubber inserted bat, that's enough to make difference in a match.

Seriously rubber inserts in a cricket bat? why are we even having this discussion? can't believe people are defending this idea.

Do you honestly think a bit of rubber in a bat is going to allow you to hit 10 extra fours an innings? I reckon one or two maximum, at a push three. So 6 extra runs. Possibly a game changer I'll admit but hardly game breaking. It's not worth getting your knickers in a twist. For the record I don't use one, probably wouldn't use one and honestly wouldn't give one jot about seeing one get used against me.

[mini998]

Do you honestly think a bit of rubber in a bat is going to allow you to hit 10 extra fours an innings? I reckon one or two maximum, at a push three. So 6 extra runs. Possibly a game changer I'll admit but hardly game breaking. It's not worth getting your knickers in a twist. For the record I don't use one, probably wouldn't use one and honestly wouldn't give one jot about seeing one get used against me.

That should be the end of this discussion, Thanks you.

[WalkingWicket37]

On the logic of this thread, if someone plays in a league below their level they too should go to prison, as that give just as much, if not more, of an unfair advantage as using/selling a lam.

[Vitas Cricket]

I didn't say it wasn't an unfair advantage, and nor do i disagree that the use of an illegal product is too widespread as is the marketing of such a product. However your estimation of how much they increase performance is way over the top.

I have sold one of the Slazenger XL V600 laminates, it is marketed as a training aid, i sold it as such i suppose (though i didn't expressly say 'you can't use this in a match') but it is up to the buyer if they choose to break the laws of the game.

The issue arises because it is difficult to enforce, especially with the confusion generated by carbon handles, reinforced toe inserts etc, they all have different levels of illegality (ie some are legal in club cricket but not in professional cricket, other innovations get a blanket ban) so the average joe on a sunday afternoon doesn't really know whats illegal and what isn't, making it difficult to challenge when someone uses one against him.

[Rob580]

We appear to be confusing the Laws of Cricket and The Law.

It's not within the Laws of the game to have 3 behind square on the legside. Should I be issued a Fixed Penaly Notice for it? No.

I'm personally very interested to see what this bat is like. I imagine from the outside you wouldn't even notice. Some people here really need something better to get wound up about!

[TangoWhiskey]

That should be the end of this discussion, Thanks you.

I was talking about professional cricket. No one who doesn't middle the ball practically every time they hit it (i.e. 99% of amateur cricketers) would be able to notice a blind bit of difference. 

[tim2000s]

#Liverpudlian Accent - Calm down, calm down....

Using a bat with a rubber insert in it is clearly illegal and anyone else on the pitch will be able to see it.

Using a more traditional lam is also illegal.

I have used a traditional lam in nets and frankly, it didn't help me time the ball, and it didn't help me become a better batsman. The difference was when I hit the middle, and, it wasn't that big a difference, i.e., it might have turned a 3 into a 4 on a very good pitch. Was it the Lam or Gooch's skill that scored 333 at Lord's?

The point being

1. Lams do make a difference all be it very small
2. A rubber lam would make a bigger difference and be completely obvious.
3. Certain batmakers in the past have been warned about creating performance enhancing blades by the MCC...
4. It isn't illegal in the laws of cricket to make a laminated bat of any sort, or even an aluminium bat. It is, however, illegal to use one in a game of cricket.

Ergo, let them be made. It's always interesting to see something different.

[mini998]

On the logic of this thread, if someone plays in a league below their level they too should go to prison, as that give just as much, if not more, of an unfair advantage as using/selling a lam.

Not sure you are messing about or got it completely wrong , when people said they are illegal , that was in the sense of laws of cricket , so this ridiculing of 'going to prison' and 'police calls' not really needed for this discussion.
So when people using laminates or anything illegal in cricket sense they should be punished within laws of cricket nothing else.

With regards to playing a level below your ability, one of our teams got 30 points deducted because they played a first team players in a crucial match too get unfair advantage and they were rightfully docked those points.

[tejasapatel]

In terms of the difference a lam would make is most likely a catch on the boundary may turn into a six or a defensive may turn into a catch.
I do not think it would make much difference in club cricket specially in 3rd and 4th XI.

I am more interested in seeing the bat and how it performs. I would love to see a ping comparison or a net video of it against a regulation bat.

[WalkingWicket37]

Not sure you are messing about or got it completely wrong , when people said they are illegal , that was in the sense of laws of cricket , so this ridiculing of 'going to prison' and 'police calls' not really needed for this discussion.

I was clearly messing about with the going to prison thing.

Prisons are overcrowded, so the electric chair is a much more suitable punishment for using a lam! 

[craigwm]

But if they have rubber inserts they can't be electrocuted...