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[Neon Cricket]

http://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/10302977/icc-calls-for-restrictions-on-size-of-cricket-bats

And discuss...

Would be interesting to get a few batmakers' views on this!

I for one think they're off their rocker - cricketers are now athletes, of course they'll hit the ball further than 100 years ago!!

[GoodLeave]

Kind of like saying bowlers can't bowl bouncers/slower balls/cutters

Doesn't matter how big the bat is if he can't hit the ball. We've always seen bowling trends follow batsman scoring runs. Slow bouncer, Yorkers and now cutters seem to be the in thing.

Outthink the batsman, don't handicap them.

[jwebber86]

i dont think this will make any difference. i think its about how the sport has changed.

they are more professional then ever now practice more and are willing to take more risks and play the bigger shots.

[ProCricketer1982]

They could of course take away the silly fielding restrictions and maybe put a bigger seam on the ball so it's a contest and more risky playing those 'bigger' shots

[dannyhall04]

Nearly a hundred every game is ridiculous though isn't it? Great entertainment but a contest between the world's best batsmen and the world's best bowler shouldn't have anomolies like that!

[Tom]

This is the study they're referencing:
https://www.lords.org/assets/Agenda-item-11.3-size-of-cricket-bats.pdf

[Aussie In England]

Whether players are fitter/stronger is a debate for another day, but reducing the depth of cricket bats will sort out the men from the boys. You see in modern cricket every Tom/Dick/Harry pounding the ball over the fence. Mishits that in years gone by would be simple catches are now disappearing 20-30 yards over the fence. That's not properly batsmanship.

Reducing the bat sizes wouldn't effect the elite players(AB, Kohli, Smith, Warner, Root etc) it will show up the lesser players like the Maxwell's/Miller's/Buttler's of the modern game.

[Buzz]

Top trolling of Jos there.
Hahahaha

That article/paper is most odd and forgets about force = mass x acceleration.
The most basic thing.

Put the boundaries back, use softer balls etc all will have more of an impact.

[InternalTraining]

ICC and cricket commentators (tv) are wrong about bat "depth". They should first tackle the insanely small boundaries and ridiculous field restrictions and that will separate "men from boys". Then, if they are still left alive and in business by the mob, they should create practical rules about bat volume v/s weight. Warner's edge is not his huge bat but that huge light bat that he flashes in a match. Instead of a 2-12, let's give Warner a 2-14 or 2-15 bat and see how he fares. 

[CrickFreak]

Guys who hit big sixes are the ones who use big bats (most of the times). And they hit long. I doubt making boundaries bigger will effect them. Most of the sixes are over 80+ meters. No boundary is big enough for them. this would rather hurt the average batters.

I think the  bowlers need to step up and build new skills with more consistency. I feel bowling has not evolved as much as batting has in last few years.
Bowling team can be given 3 balls - one brand new, one semi old and one old and the bowler can choose which one to use anytime during the inning, just like how batsmen change their bat in the middle of the inning.

[Aussie In England]

Top trolling of Jos there.
Hahahaha

That article/paper is most odd and forgets about force = mass x acceleration.
The most basic thing.

Put the boundaries back, use softer balls etc all will have more of an impact.

Hardly Philip...batsmen are batsmen, sloggers are sloggers. Buttler is the latter.

[Buzz]

You should watch him play more rather than cast aspersions.

[Bats_Entertainment]

Definitely a thread for David Bacon.

[rockymoghal]

I have to say reading the paper it does seem like they are slightly biased. There are variables in the paper that haven't been discussed or accounted for and some of the points they claim don't seem to have any real scientific reasoning.

Even if big bats were helping batsmen (which I am still to believe it is) the real issue in my opinion is definitely the boundary ropes, fielding restrictions and bowling restrictions. It's easy to see that people want to see big scores and big chases. None of the casual fans want to see one team defending 130 in an ODI (even though for me they are the best matches).

The blame is being pushed onto the batmakers when all they are really doing is using their craft to achieve the most they can. The ICC need to look at their own decisions first

[rockymoghal]

Also quick extra point. I have to defend butter here as a batsmen. I've always loved watching the sangakarra type of batsmen, who just has pure elegance in his batting style. But I think it's harsh to label quite a few players as sloggers. It's a fact that the role of the batsmen has changed over time. Buttler has a talent to clear the ropes. He knows how to play aggressive and play well. Just because he isn't the orthodox batsmen that doesn't make him a slogger. The situation nowadays means that batsmen need to be able to play like buttler. Even if he is a slogger, he's one of the best out there and that's hard coming from a Pakistani fan lol.

My best example would be Miandad. Anyone who watches him would have agreed that he wasn't the most elegant, but he accumulated runs. There is no denying he was one of the greatest batsmen for Pakistan if not overall during his time.