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[sachin200]

Yesterday I saw another Pakistan made bat with ultra flexible handle in the nets. I sincerely believe that it is a very good innovation coming from Pakistani bat makers since late 2000s. I heard that a lot of professional batters are using it. Generally there is a thick (generally red or yellow colored) central rubber stripe providing that flex the handle.

I have played with such bat in the past and it cushions your hands from shocks that are the results of misshits. Basically, you get an illusion that you have middled everything. Watching carefully, latewly many Pakistani bat makers e.g. CA and MB are providing 4 or 5 rubber strips as against just three in the handles to increase flex. What are your view on this tactics? I know that some bat makers e.g. laver and wood have carbon inserts to make the handles stiffer (which is kind of against this).

I was reading a science article (http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~cross/cricket.html) and basically it says that the impact time of the ball and bat is so small that it doesn't matter whether it is rigid or flexible, so it it more for just the batsman's feel more than anything else!

Any comments views on this?

[Buzz]

I can't see how a flexible handle can possibly help.
A stiffer handle will transfer the energy from your hands to the ball.

A flexible handle will absorb energy from the ball and your hands meaning you won't hit the ball as hard..

[JK Lewis]

Wouldn't it feel wobbly? How does it help? Baseball bats are just solid and the ball goes for miles.

[Loc1215]

I have been led to believe flex handles led to less energy being lost on impact hence the better performance.

[sachin200]

Wouldn't it feel wobbly? How does it help? Baseball bats are just solid and the ball goes for miles.

I think the ball goes far with the baseball bats because of their speeds not because of the stiffness. Because of lighter weight and lower air resistance, the baseball bats swing very fast. I guess if someone puts flex in baseball bats handle and similarly if the vibrations can't travel back and forth before the ball gets released from the bat surface upon impact, it won't really matter! In fact it would shield batters hands. I have heard Mark Waugh and Rober Pack talk about the flex or whip in the ha does being beneficial for cricket batting, but the reality is (according to the science) that it doesn't matter due to the very small impact time. It only boils down to - whether the batter likes less or more vibrations (less impact feel vs punchy feel) while batting.

[sachin200]

I can't see how a flexible handle can possibly help.
A stiffer handle will transfer the energy from your hands to the ball.

A flexible handle will absorb energy from the ball and your hands meaning you won't hit the ball as hard..

But the science article that I have copied above says that there isn't enough time for it to absorb or transfer more energy if the bat is stiffer since the contact time is so little that the vibration wave doesn't have time to travel to the handle and back at all. It may be beneficial against the spin ballers if it affects at all!

[GDP1964]

B&S have played around with Handles for a long time both with the carbon fibre inserts to 3 rubbers each 5 mm thick .
Their Findings were the hitters of the cricket ball were by far the carbon fibre handle mould and the stroke players loved the whippy 5mm rubber handles one particular Pro would bend his handle to the exstent of almost breaking it he felt the more bend / whippy the better

[Seniorplayer]

It's been proven that the stiffer the handle  the less energy is lost so more value for the shot think GN titanium etc.

[brokenbat]

This is a very complicated debate...in general, a stiffer handle means less energy lost, so theoretically more power back into the ball...

..BUT, does anyone here play tennis? Even if you don't, just google "tennis racket string tension" and you'll see that tennis players who want more power opt for LESS tension in the strings, and players who want control, opt for MORE tension in the strings.

Here is a great article to read that explains the Tennis analogy: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203370604577265832373170456

A quote from the article: "Racket strings have more punch when they're strung loosely because the ball dwells on the string bed longer, creating a trampoline effect."

So clearly, there are a few nuances here that are hard to grasp.

[InternalTraining]

I actually have used an Ihsan bat with a flex handle both in nets and middle practice. The ball was travelling miles! In the right hands, that bat would score a lot of runs. The benefit of a stiff(er) handle is that you have more control over shots. I can still hit fairly decently with a normal handle but a stiff handle gives me a lot more control over touch/controlled shots in the gap areas. Every ball was bouncing off like a rocket with the flex handle bat. I have only seen one or two though and this model bat was acquired atleast 3-4 years ago.

[Tailendfielder]

Badminton racquets advertise a flexible shaft to increase power from the whip. Dont know how that helps the debate but Badminton racquet producers agree with the poster.

Salix told me they had gone for a more flexible handle for 2016. For diferent reasons but still.

[sachin200]

B&S have played around with Handles for a long time both with the carbon fibre inserts to 3 rubbers each 5 mm thick .
Their Findings were the hitters of the cricket ball were by far the carbon fibre handle mould and the stroke players loved the whippy 5mm rubber handles one particular Pro would bend his handle to the exstent of almost breaking it he felt the more bend / whippy the better

Hi @B&S UK,
Can you please share how deep are these inserts in the handles? Are they all the way till then end of the splice or just the upper half of the handle? Do such handles break easily? I am also seeing that lately CA has started putting 6 or 7 strips of rubber to create the same effect (instead of just one big central thick rubber insert like Ihsan bats).

[GDP1964]

 Hi Sachin200 Upper half of the handle  only I would like to get a few of those 7 rubber strip handles do you have a contact

[sachin200]

Yesterday I saw another Pakistan made bat with ultra flexible handle in the nets. I sincerely believe that it is a very good innovation coming from Pakistani bat makers since late 2000s. I heard that a lot of professional batters are using it. Generally there is a thick (generally red or yellow colored) central rubber stripe providing that flex the handle.

I have played with such bat in the past and it cushions your hands from shocks that are the results of misshits. Basically, you get an illusion that you have middled everything. Watching carefully, latewly many Pakistani bat makers e.g. CA and MB are providing 4 or 5 rubber strips as against just three in the handles to increase flex. What are your view on this tactics? I know that some bat makers e.g. laver and wood have carbon inserts to make the handles stiffer (which is kind of against this).

I was reading a science article (http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~cross/cricket.html) and basically it says that the impact time of the ball and bat is so small that it doesn't matter whether it is rigid or flexible, so it it more for just the batsman's feel more than anything else!

Any comments views on this?

Does anyone have pictures of these ultra flexible handles? Unfortunately the bats that I observed them on aren't mine 😏

[Seniorplayer]

The GN Carbo bat has a piece of carbon fibre at the back of the handle at the top of the vee the bats stress point to stop the bat flexing on contact with the ball read somewhere  you get forty percent more value for your shot than a a bat without this insert.