MCC says using bamboo bats will be illegal under current laws

Custodians of the game, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have rejected the idea of bamboo bats, saying that it will be illegal under the current set of laws. However, the MCC added that they would look into the matter during their next laws sub-committee meeting.

According to research published in the Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, bamboo bats can reportedly make life easier for batters as the sweet spot of the bat increases. Moreover, it would be cheaper to produce such bats, thus penetrating the game further among low-income groups and in more countries.

However, MCC stated that for bamboo bats to be accepted at the international level, there will need to be a change of laws.

"Currently, Law 5.3.2 states that the blade of the bat must consist solely of wood, so for bamboo (which is a grass) to be considered as a realistic alternative to willow would require a Law change," said MCC in a statement.

The statement further added:

"Importantly, the Law would need to be altered to allow bamboo specifically, as even if it were to be recognised as a wood, this would still be illegal under the current Law, which bans lamination of the blade, except in junior bats."

Howzat for innovation? Researchers say bamboo cricket bats could replace willow https://t.co/Un7Bb89Ke7

— Malcolm Conn (@malcolmconn) May 11, 2021

MCC also highlighted that they need to maintain a balance in the contest between bat and ball. With bamboo bats supposedly making batting easier, the game might tilt drastically in the batsman's favor.

What are the benefits of bamboo bats?

On this day, 1979, Dennis Lillee walked out with an aluminium bat (the brand was called ComBat) during a Test match.But a quiz question before all that.There were many surplus ComBats, so they tried to sell them for another purpose. What?(I shall answer this, don't worry)+ pic.twitter.com/WGrxk3J1pd

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@SachinAzharCT) (@ovshake42) December 15, 2020

The researchers claimed that batters could even hit yorkers for boundaries with the sweet spot in the bat increasing. The study also found that bamboo bats are 22 percent stiffer than willows, and its sweet spot also performing 19 percent better.

However, the biggest benefit is seemingly the reduction of cost in producing international standard bats. Even the MCC acknowledged that aspect of the bamboo bats and said in a statement:

"Sustainability is a relevant topic for MCC and indeed cricket, and this angle of willow alternatives should also be considered. With the researchers stating that the most suitable types of bamboo grow abundantly across China and that low-cost production could make bamboo bats a viable and ethical alternative to willow, this could provide a pertinent angle for further research and the possibility of reducing the cost of producing bats in different areas of the world."

You can read the full research paper here, authored by Dr. Darshil Shah and Ben Tinkler-Davies.