Josh Hazlewood backs Ricky Ponting's suggestion of reducing bat size

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting had earlier said that the there should be regulations on bat sizes used in the Test format. Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood backed Ponting’s opinion. He believes that the regulations will help to create the balance between the bat and ball.

“I don’t mind it (big bats) for the shorter versions of the game. I would actually say you’ve got a bat you can use in Test cricket and a certain type of bat you can use in one-day cricket and T20 cricket,” Ponting had said. He also said that he will discuss this in the next week’s meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee.

“I’m all for it,” Hazlewood told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. “Some of those cricket bats going around the dressing sheds at the moment are unbelievably big. Obviously, David Warner and Usman Khawaja has got a few big ones as well. I’m all for it.”

“I think it’s just the weight, as Punter has mentioned. You think it’s going to be so heavy, this big bat, but it picks up as light as any of the other bats. It’s just ridiculous,” he added.

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He said that Ponting’s suggestion is spot-on, to reduce bat sizes for Test cricket and ODIs. “I think he’s made a good point about just in Test matches,” Hazlewood said. “One-day cricket [is] a little bit different, I think the crowds come to see the fours and sixes and big hits. But in Test cricket, definitely, I think he’s made a pretty good point.”

Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka

Joe Burns, Steve O’Keefe, Jackson Bird, and wicketkeeper Peter Nevill are currently in India preparing for the series.

Hazlewood said that there could not be much support for the pacers, especially in Colombo. “I think a couple of wickets are going to be quite tough, quite hard work for the quicks, Colombo especially doesn’t offer too much for the quicks,” Hazlewood said. “But I think up in Kandy it could suit us and we could get a little bit of seam.

“The spinners are going to be the key to taking the majority of the wickets if conditions do suit spin. But I think the quicks if we can get some reverse swing, I think we could really take wickets towards the end when that ball does start to reverse,” he concluded.

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