New laws on the manufacture of bats
The MCC has introduced new laws on the manufacture of bats, in an effort to maintain the traditional balance between bat and ball. In this article Laver & Wood consider the implications of these law changes for cricketers and bat manufacturers.
Law Changes
The laws do not change how bats are made, but they do determine what materials are allowed to be used, and how they are permitted to be used.
There main change is the outlawing of the carbon handle. The MCC felt that the carbon handle increased the bats power, giving batsmen an unfair advantage. Laver & Wood consider this to be something of an overkill for a number of reasons. The main reason is that it does not take into account the diminishing supply of cane world wide, cane that is not sustainably grown, and takes a long time to grow. Supply of good quality cane is finite, and without good cane bats will not perform properly. At some stage Laver & Wood expect manufacturers and the MCC to have to come to some sort of agreement about artificial materials to take into account the poor quality cane available.
Having seen numerous prototypes with different artificial inserts Laver & Wood have yet to see any totally artificial handle that comes close to canes performance, and believe that good quality cane provides the best performance, with the basic design not having changed since 1853. In an ideal world good quality cane would be available, and the traditional handles will continue to be available to all cricketers, but this is not the case. Laver & Wood consider that carbon handles have provided durability, rather than power, and for this reason the decision is not in the best interests of cricketers.
Carbon on the back of the bat has also been banned at the highest level. This is another decision based on history, rather than science. Having tested a number of bats with carbon on the back, Laver & Wood found that performance was not enhanced, but durability was. The improved durability was nowhere near as important as the improvements to the handle with carbon inserts, and manufacturers were more likely to use this as a selling feature than a performance feature.
Toe laminations, on the other hand, do offer considerable improvement in durability, as the toe, together with the handle, are the biggest break points. The design Laver & Wood has been using over the last five years is based on a Stuart Surridge design that is over forty years old, and it considerably enhances the durability of the bats. This insert is now banned in 1st class & International cricket, yet offers no performance gain – just a huge gain in durability.
Grading Bats
A bat with a laminated toe will last considerably longer, and will not add any distance to the distance the ball travels. Yet it is now graded “B” meaning it will not be permitted in 1st Class and International cricket. This is disappointing, as through being one of New Zealand’s largest bat repair businesses we constantly are repairing broken toes. Laver & Wood recommend toe laminations to all cricketers, as it will save bats from one yorker that could break the bat, and also protect against major toe damage when exposed to moisture.
From a purely commercial perspective, Laver & Wood are grateful to the MCC for the rule changes, as they will increase the number of bats with broken handles and toes that require repairing. This is in the best interests of the Laver & Wood repair workshop, but it is hard to see how this is in the best interests of cricketers with the price increases in bats that have already taken place and will do so again in the new season of 2009 by at least 10%.
A Bat Law Change Laver & Wood would like considered
If the MCC really wanted to maintain the balance between bat and ball it would take a step back and consider the factors that do alter that balance. The big one in the modern game is the bats used in Twenty20, which go through a secondary drying process. This drying process takes the bat from a moisture content of about 12% to 10-11%. The reduced moisture content means the bat appears far, far bigger, as the small change in moisture content means a big change in weight.
This allows bat makers to make a bat that performs unbelievably, hitting the ball a lot further than a standard 12% moisture content bat. The trade off is that the bats break, and break quickly. The standard 1000 runs per bat rule of thumb is defeated by the lower moisture content, and the bats last for a very short time. Pros hit the ball a lot further, and are earning so much money they don’t care about the replacement cost.
Taken from the L&W Batlore Newsletter, can be signed up for on their website.
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