Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-5wvtr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-22T20:12:54.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Role of Materials in the Design of an Improved Cricket Bat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2013

C. Grant
Get access

Extract

The origins of the game of cricket are not known, but the first recorded game took place in London, England, on February 25, 1719. The basic rules of the game were formulated at a meeting of a self-appointed group of noblemen, held at the Star and Garter public house, Pall Mall, in 1774. These rules form the basis of the modern game.

Only under-arm bowling was allowed originally, and bats incorporated a curved blade to sweep the ball along the ground. Over-arm bowling where the ball was allowed to pitch or bounce was introduced late in the 18th century. This was quickly accepted and led to bats with straight blades to accommodate a variable bounce. Following a famous incident in 1793 in which a wide bat was used to completely cover the wickets, a new rule was quickly introduced to restrict the width of the blade to four and a quarter inches—a rule that survives to the present day.

The weight of the bat is not restricted by the rules, and the modern tendency is to use heavier bats. In the middle of the present century, a typical bat would weigh between 34 and 36 ounces. Currently bats of 40–44 ounces are widely available, and bats of 48 ounces and more are not uncommon among professional players. Although a heavier bat is widely believed to be capable of propelling the ball faster, there is a penalty. Heavier bats cause players to tire more quickly, and this affects their timing. Individual players tend to have a personal preferred weight of bat.

Type
Materials For Sports
Information
MRS Bulletin , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , March 1998 , pp. 50 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Bailey, T., A History of Cricket (Allen & Unwin, London, 1979).Google Scholar
2.The Laws of Cricket (1980 Code) 2nd Edition, Marylebone Cricket Club, 1992.Google Scholar
3. “The Modern Tennis Racket,” Proc. Int. Conf. Engin. Sport, edited by Haake, S. (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1996).Google Scholar
4.Brody, H., “How Would a Physicist Design a Tennis Racket?” Phys. Today (March 1995) p. 26.Google Scholar
5.Kirkpatrick, P., “Batting the Ball,” Am. J. Phys., Part I 8 (31) p. 606.Google Scholar
6.Daish, C.B., The Physics of Ball Games (The English Universities Press, London, 1972).Google Scholar
7.Grant, C. and Thethi, P., Recent Advances in Experimental Mechanics, vol. 1, edited by Gomes, J.R. Silvaet al. (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1994).Google Scholar
8.Ewins, D.J., Modal Testing: Theory and Practice, Taunton: Research Studies Press (John Wiley & Sons, 1984.)Google Scholar
9.Grant, C. and Nixon, S.A., “Parametric Modelling of the Dynamic Performance of a Cricket Bat,” Proc. Int. Conf. Engin. Sport, edited by Haake, S. (Balkema, Rotterdam, 1996) p. 245.Google Scholar
10.Lavers, G.M., The Strength Properties of Timber, 3rd ed. (HMSO, London, 1983).Google Scholar
11.Grant, C. and Paisley, , “Raising the Game Through Modelling,” Proc. 4th Int. Conf. Composites Engin., Hawaii, USA, 1997.Google Scholar