MCC's world cricket committee proposes regulation on bat size

After former Australian skipper and a member of the World Cricket Committee (WCC) of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Ricky Ponting took up the case of regulating size of the bats used it was understandable that there will be a certain decision made on the matter in the upcoming meeting. Following the WCC meeting at Lord’s on Monday and Tuesday, it said that the thickness of bats should be reduced by 20mm.

It also added that batting has become “too easy”, with bats up to 80mm thick with 55mm edges. With no particulars set by the MCC on the size of the bat, the committee wishes to introduce a law which permits a maximum depth of 60-65mm and a maximum edge of 35-40mm.

If the proposal is approved by the MCC, the new Law could be introduced on 1 October 2017.

The committee also made several other proposals:

Olympics:

The committee said “cricket must embrace the concept of playing Twenty20 in the Olympic Games” by applying for a place in the 2024 edition.

Also read – Imran Khan terms rumors of his third marriage baseless

League system in Test cricket:

The committee supported a potential future system of promotion and relegation in Test cricket, as well as the “expansion of day-night matches with a pink ball”.

‘Mankading’:

The committee supported the ICC’s ruling that non-strikers must stay in their crease until the point of release of the ball. Batsmen attempting to back up before the ball is released were “taking an advantage or acting carelessly”, the committee said.

“After considering the broad issue of the balance between bat and ball, set out in a paper which will be published today on Lords.org – the committee believes the balance has tilted too far in the batsman’s favour.

“The committee agrees with ICC’s Cricket committee that, beyond the limits that have long been in place regarding the width and length of a cricket bat, further limitations to the edge, depth and possibly to the weight should now be introduced.”

Also read – Ravindra Jadeja finds a new friend in the Caribbean

The committee’s discussions had been informed by a paper commissioned by MCC entitled “Balance of The Game”, which stated that “there is incontrovertible evidence that the balance between bat and ball has changed, favouring the former, over recent years.”

The World Cricket committee Statements continued: “One proposal would be for the maximum thickness of the edge to be between 35mm and 40mm, and the overall depth of the bat to be between 60mm and 65mm. (Some bats in current use have edges of 55mm and can be up to 80mm deep.)

Further consultations will be held with bat manufacturers and scientists to finalise the exact measurements, and the means of evaluating them, as well as to investigate the viability and need for a weight limit.“

“The overwhelming (but not unanimous) view of the committee was that it has become too easy for batsmen to clear the boundary in all forms of cricket, even with mis-timed shots.”

Also read – Lendl Simmons bats with one pad in CPL