Flat tracks
Tiny grounds (rope brought in)
Format
Field restrictions
Etc etc
Bats simply didn’t have much effect compared to any of the above
Yes there has been much debate on the forum about the size of bats, and very interesting it has been too, the smaller boundaries , field restrictions, pitches made for batting and the physical strength and fitness of players today compared to back in the 70's or 80's have to Be a major factor.
Personally I'm a bit I undecided myself whether a over dried bat with 70 MM spine and 50 MM edges actually makes the ball go further.
At Lords in 1984(I Started early I'm not that old!!) I saw GG get 200 against us, I was square of the wicket and I didn't think I would ever see the ball hit harder or faster, I then saw Botham live at against the Aussies,and hook McDermott into the stands-I still don't think to this day I have seen a ball hit harder or further.
I then saw Viv Richards bat in the Lords museum and my own bat is 2 or 3 times the physical size of it.
So you're spot on mentioning ground size and fielding restrictions added to stronger players who practice range hitting as more important factors.
What would Botham or Richards do with modern day bats? The answer on here is always hit it further than they did'
I understand the logic.....I'm just not convinced
That is of course my totally unscientific opinion...and I don't want to start a 40 pages thread on why I'm wrong-because I could well be