The Debate. Breaking News. Cricket is one of the oldest sport in the world, with some dating its origins back to 16th century. A bat and ball are 2 of the primary components of the sport. Written By. Here is a look at some insights regarding the equipment as we answer queries like when was the first cricket bat invented, its usual length and its evolution over the years. Weight and bounce are provided to the cricket ball by cork which is the main component of its core. In the manufacture of the ball, strings are tightly wound, in layers, around the core.
A leather case is used to cover the core encased in string. The bowler can grip the ball by holding the slightly raised seam which is sewn into the leather case. Red balls have always been used in Test cricket.
Until , red balls were the norm for all formats of the game. Since then, white balls have been used in limited overs cricket. First used in one day cricket, white balls have become the norm in T20 and T10 games. Pink balls were introduced in by the MCC. While bat-making technology has helped run-making become easier, the bats themselves do not last as long as they used to.
The evolution of the design of the cricket bat — with thicker edges, a chunkier middle, a lower blade, and a higher swell — tells us a lot about how the game itself has changed. Afghanistan is a team that have been performing beyond expectations in the ongoing T20 World Cup, winning two out of their first three encounters.
But the team will certainly miss the experience of their captain, Asghar Afghan as he retired post the match against Namibia which the team comprehensively won by 62 runs. The former […]. Additionally, Shammah Brooks was the top scorer for the team with 43 runs. However, they were grateful to a six-laden duo cameo […]. It was crucial for Barbados Royals to defeat Guyana Amazon Warriors by 45 runs for their second win of the season.
Additionally, it also keeps their hopes of reaching the CPL league playoffs alive. The real change came when the distribution of weight turned into something bat manufacturers experimented with.
There was a large hollow at the back of the bat and more timber at the edges. In those times, the middle of the lower half of the bat was the sweet spot, where the timber would be dense. This allowed the bat to induce maximum power on the ball. These days, bats have so many sweet spots that they could very well be mistaken for a bakery.
Once the sweet spot was settled, the focus turned into reducing the weight of bats. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Lance Klusener used monstrous bats that played a part in back injuries. The emphasis as such turned into making lighter bats which generated as much power. The dryness of the willow was considered a crucial factor here. Reducing moisture content of the willow allowed bats to become lighter while maintaining the same effectiveness in terms of power.
Modern day bats are actually lighter than those used in the s but have bigger edges and greater depth. A graphite reinforced bat was used by Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey as part of an experiement by Kookaburra but it did not last. The durability of the bat was a huge concern in the early s but that is no longer pondered about. Cricketers carry around a lot of bats and are believed to use more than 10 bats a season.
Herschelle Gibbs once revealed that he went through 47 bats in one season Source: The Guardian , although that is quite rare. The amount of time the wood is pressed contributes to the efficiency of bats.
The more it is pressed, the less efficient the bat is although it becomes more durable. Modern bats aren't pressed much at the demands of cricketers and as such it is less durable but superlatively effective. All in all, this has contributed to enormous bats in the 21st century largely tilting the balance in favour of batsmen. The MCC has rightfully intervened to restrict bat sizes which will be effective from October 1 this year.
It is now an average, in professional cricket, of mm and sometimes up to 60mm. That shows how fast the change has been. As the limitations take effect, we would probably get to know the kind of impact these humongous bats have made in the past decade or so. It has become a common theme now - recently in the match between India and Bangladesh, Virat Kohli was left shocked after a Bangladeshi batsman edged a ball that flew over the slip cordon for a six.
It shouldn't come as a shock though, the transformation that the cricket bat has undergone, it has made scoring runs very easy. The history of the cricket bat is a fascinating, intriguing tale of the very evolution of the game itself, from the hockey stick-like beginnings to the brutal, beautifully-crafted profiles of modern day.
The cricket bat that we see today are far from what they used to be during the inception of the game. As bowlers used to bowl underarm, the first cricket bats used to resemble a hockey stick - which was a viable option because the ball would arrive at a batsman very low to the ground. The cricket bat first got a mention in the print in when a batsman reportedly hit the fielder with the hockey stick type bat, who was trying to catch the ball to dismiss him.
A not so pleasing start, but the cricket bat had made the headlines. The game only saw its first changes in the late s and early s when the cricket bat started taking a rectangular form. The laws had also seen several changes and bowlers were allowed to roll their arms over like they do today. The bowlers could run in and hit any length they strategized and weren't restricted to bowling underarm anymore. There were also no restrictions on the size or shape of the bat at that point of time.
It was only in the early s that the restrictions on the bat size were introduced by the Marylebone Cricket Club MCC , the guardian and copyright holder of the Laws of Cricket. The width of the bat was set at four and a quarter inch. The law was brought into force after an Englishman, representing Ryegate, walking in to bat against Hambledon in with a bat so wide that it covered the whole stumps. The heartwood also made the bats heavier. In , bat making saw a change after English cricket bat manufacturer, C.
Bussey, started using the sapwood of the tree instead, and found that it was far lighter and more aesthetically appealing to consumers.
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