The Evolution Of The Cricket Bat: From A Hockey Stick Shape To Modern Day Style
From a weapon similar to a hockey stick to a rectangular furnished and crafty willow, cricket bat has had quite a revolution.
The game of cricket has evolved a lot over the years. Rules and format have been changed, equipment too have become part of an inevitable evolutionary process. Most of these changes have favoured the batsmen. They have benefitted from the shorter boundaries, flatter tracks and thicker bats. Batsmen now don't have to bother too much about getting the ball in the middle of the bat as even edges clear the ropes.
It has become a common theme now - recently in the match between India and Bangladesh, Virat Kohli was left shocked after a Bangladeshi batsman edged a ball that flew over the slip cordon for a six. It shouldn't come as a shock though, the transformation that the cricket bat has undergone, it has made scoring runs very easy.
The history of the cricket bat is a fascinating, intriguing tale of the very evolution of the game itself, from the hockey stick-like beginnings to the brutal, beautifully-crafted profiles of modern day. Though it remains the batsman's key instrument of expression and destruction its shape, weight, power and quality of materials have changed through cricketing history.
Taking shape
The cricket bat that we see today are far from what they used to be during the inception of the game. As bowlers used to bowl underarm, the first cricket bats used to resemble a hockey stick - which was a viable option because the ball would arrive at a batsman very low to the ground. The cricket bat first got a mention in the print in 1624 when a batsman reportedly hit the fielder with the hockey stick type bat, who was trying to catch the ball to dismiss him. A not so pleasing start, but the cricket bat had made the headlines.
The game only saw its first changes in the late 1700s and early 1800s when the cricket bat started taking a rectangular form. The laws had also seen several changes and bowlers were allowed to roll their arms over like they do today. The bowlers could run in and hit any length they strategized and weren't restricted to bowling underarm anymore. There were also no restrictions on the size or shape of the bat at that point of time.
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It was only in the early 1880s that the restrictions on the bat size were introduced by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the guardian and copyright holder of the Laws of Cricket. The width of the bat was set at four and a quarter inch. The law was brought into force after an Englishman, representing Ryegate, walking in to bat against Hambledon in 1771 with a bat so wide that it covered the whole stumps.
The bats were believed to be around ?5 then, and were made from English Willow trees, specifically the heartwood portion which was dense and hence appeared darker. The heartwood also made the bats heavier.
Bat manufacturers and design evolution in the 1900s
In 1890, bat making saw a change after English cricket bat manufacturer, C.C. Bussey, started using the sapwood of the tree instead, and found that it was far lighter and more aesthetically appealing to consumers. It led to more and more manufacturers making use of the sapwood to produce cricket bats. The sapwood during that time was called 'white willow.'
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The legendary Don Bradman, Vijay Merchant and Wally Hammond other famous crickets of the 20th century made the willow gain prominence. They used bats similar in size and shape but the weight varied. The average bat was two pounds two ounces. Billy Ponsford, though, was famous for using a 2.9lbs bat, called the ¡°Big Bertha¡± bat. But by the 1960s, players like Clive Lloyd and Graeme Pollock started using bats heavier than 3 pounds.
The heavy bats made playing some of the shots very difficult. Given the quick pace with which the balls arrived at the batsman, it wasn't easy to wiled the heavy bat. That is why several players still prefer the bats that are very light and gives them more time to adjust to make the shot selection. As cricket became popular and spread across the world, the quality of bats also improved massively.
The emergence of Kashmir willow
Earlier the majority of the bat manufacturers were English, but it all changed in the mid 1900s when the big bat revolution began. The Kashmiri willow became famous in India and Pakistan as it was approximately the same in terms of weight as the English kind, although it was believed to be less durable. But as the time progressed, the bats produced in the valley started to show drastic change in its quality.
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It was also the time legendary bat makers Gary Nicholls and John Newberry experimented with various changes in the weighting of the bat. Gray Nicolls used a concept of 'Super Scoop' bat, which featured a large hollow on the back of the bat, and more wood around the edges. This redistribution of weight from the middle to the edge allowed the manufacturers to increase the 'sweet spot' on the bat, thus making a bat that was more forgiving to slight mishits. In those times, the middle of the lower half of the bat was the sweet spot, where the timber would be dense.
Lightweight, yet twice as powerful
After the 'sweet spot' was taken care of, the focus then shifted to producing light weight bat. The bats that would generate great amount of power without being heavy. The dryness of the willow was considered a crucial factor here. Reducing moisture content of the willow allowed bats to become lighter while maintaining the same effectiveness in terms of power. Modern day bats are actually lighter than those used in the 1960s but have bigger edges and greater depth.
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It has made scoring runs very easy as even mistimed shots finds the fence these days. Today, the cricket bats have become better, both in quality and aesthetics. From a weapon similar to a hockey stick to a rectangular furnished and crafty willow, cricket bat has had quite a revolution. As the time goes by, they keep getting better and giving batsmen the joy to score easily.