Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

[bulldogtragic]

I think Chappeli might actually have an interesting point about the bats getting bigger and risks to bowlers, umpires and the non batter.

Should we have any type of bat restrictions?

The PGA have tight restrictions on balls and clubs, MLB have rules about bats too. It seems the ICC are not restrictive on the sport equipment as others?

Thoughts?

[westdog54]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

Didn't MLB ban aluminium bats to help protect pitchers from line drives?

Can see where he is coming from but at the same time batting technique and the physical strength of your average cricketer have also evolved.

[Bornadog]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

Didn't MLB ban aluminium bats to help protect pitchers from line drives?

Can see where he is coming from but at the same time batting technique and the physical strength of your average cricketer have also evolved.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

Didn't MLB ban aluminium bats to help protect pitchers from line drives?

Can see where he is coming from but at the same time batting technique and the physical strength of your average cricketer have also evolved.

I think so and titanium inserts inside the bats.

[KT31]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

I heard Chappelli make the comment and I agree with him, we need restrictions on the bats before someone gets terribly hurt or a worse case scenario.
Golf balls and clubs have restrictions so I cant see why not a cricket bat, especially in local cricket where you have senior players smacking the ball back at kids.
If they don't want to put restrictions on the bat, one from left field would be to make the pitch a yard longer but I'm sure any bowler would make a fair and vocal protest.

[westdog54]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

The irony is that the shot Lillee played in that video probably would have gone for 4 if he'd had a wooden bat.

[Twodogs]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

The bat Warner uses is almost shaped like half a baseball bat.

[Happy Days]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

This is dumb old man rambling that is trying to make it look like everything Chappell and his contemporaries did was somehow better.

[The Doctor]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

This is dumb old man rambling that is trying to make it look like everything Chappell and his contemporaries did was somehow better.

That's a bit rough. When Ian Chappell speaks up on an issue it is worth listening to. He is very much in tune with the modern game, has a brilliant cricket mind, and in my view the best skipper Australia has had in my years of watching test cricket.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

This is dumb old man rambling that is trying to make it look like everything Chappell and his contemporaries did was somehow better.

I think that's a tad unfair on Chappell. He's never been one to follow the conservative path when it comes to cricket. He is not bemoaning the evolution of the game. Rather i think he is advocating further evolution of the game to ensure it remains a balanced and entertaining contest for both bat and ball. All of the major changes to the game have mostly favoured batsmen with bigger bats with greater sweet spots to the prevalence of more benign drop in pitches.
I think it is time to look at how we can redress the imbalance now whether by increasing the height of the seam or restricting bat modifications or with drop in pitches, ensuring they have a lot more green grass on them to begin a test match.

[Greystache]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

I think the obsession with the new style bats is overrated by the commentators that never used them. They make a bit of difference but it's not huge. The new bats have a slightly bigger hitting zone, but the sweet spot is no better than the old ones. If a good player is on a hot streak they'd be hitting it as far with a bat from the 80's.

The biggest difference is the size and strength of the players. Viv Richards was the big hitter of his day, and people raved about how big and strong he was, but he would be average today.

[jeemak]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

Yeah agree it's down to the strength of the players for the most part. Many of the aggressive test players (which is a great deal) these days are just as strong as the big hitting aggressive players of yesteryear.

It's where modern training methods have evolved the game (strength and conditioning), meaning genetics don't count for as much as they used to (when it comes to big hitting).

[Bornadog]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

I still think that equipment should be standardised and therefore creating an even playing field.

[jeemak]

Re: Ian Chappel's thoughts on cricket bat advancement

It's standardised now though, isn't it (aside from the brands used in terms of balls etc.)?