The Third Edit: IPL, now with a lighter bat

The Indian cricket board’s move to rein in monster cricket bats — going forward, the willows used in the IPL should pass the gauge test — was a long overdue measure to restore the skewed balance in the game. Weight was never the issue. Ironically, modern-day bats are lighter than the ones used in the 20th century. But dimensions were a concern, especially the sweet spot, the thickness of the edges. Perfect balance might still be elusive. But cricket should take steps whereby mis-hits don’t soar over the ropes and mediocre batsmen are not hailed as six-hitting T20 greats.
Bowlers who complain about the game’s blatant unfairness have a point. The ball has remained much the same through centuries. Newer colours, machines replacing hands in stitching leather, and use of different dyes, are the only changes. In contrast, bats have evolved faster than homo sapiens. Thomas White, a Surrey batsman, used a bat as wide as the stumps, prompting the first restriction on the size of a bat. In subsequent years, batsmen have wielded a spate of fancily named bats, from the Jumbo and Run Reaper to Mongoose and the unpressed trampoline bats that modern cricketers use. Australia’s pace legend Dennis Lillee once wielded an aluminium bat. Bat-making scientists are devoting endless nights to making bats lighter but more powerful. The depth of the bats expanded to such an extent that the MCC introduced restrictions in 2017 to de-fatten the wood.
It’s presumptuous to believe that eliminating giant bats would reduce the manic frequency of sixes in the modern game. For, six-hitting is not an accidental byproduct of powerful bats alone. Other factors have contributed, like smaller ground dimensions and the expanding imagination of batsmen. The really good six-hitters will clear the fence, no matter the checks and curbs. In that sense, bat-gauges would help in appreciating their six-hitting prowess even more and separate the upstarts from the originals.

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