Former Australian skipper and two times World Cup winning captain Ricky Ponting, made an interesting point recently regarding the regulation of bat sizes. In the modern day game, it is a known fact that the gap between the bat and the ball has widened owing to the rules laid out by the ICC. With extremely short boundary lengths and field restrictions coming into the picture, the bowlers can consider themselves to be in the unfortunate category.
In a bid to narrow this gap, a viable option is to regulate the bat width and weight and ensure that batsmen don’t enjoy such benefits. Owing to some chunky willows, even mistimed hits land into the stands making things cumbersome for the bowlers. After Ponting made an appeal into the matter, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood seconded his former skipper.
“If you are strong enough to use them that’s fine, but you should not get a bat that’s bigger in size than MS Dhoni’s but a whole lot lighter,” Ponting said a few days ago. “Chris Gayle’s the same. Everyone talks about Chris Gayle’s bat size, but it’s 3½lbs. He’s big enough and strong enough to use it. “I only get worried when they are really big and really light.”
“I’m all for it,” Hazlewood was quoted saying about the matter. “Some of those cricket bats going around the dressing shed at the moment are unbelievably big. Obviously, David Warner, and Usman Khawaja as well, have a few big ones.”
Backing Ponting for his views, the lanky pacer said, “It’s just the weight.” “You think it’s going to be so heavy but it picks up as light as any of the others. “I think Ponting has made a good point about just in Test matches. One-day cricket is a little bit different, I think the crowds come to see the fours and sixes and the big hits. “But in Tests, definitely, he’s making a pretty good point.”