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Cricket bats and its basic features

Cricket as a game has a long history. Official game of international test cricket began in the year 1877. However there have been cricketing events recorded in the early 16th century. Cricket as a sport has evolved over the years. Initially the bats were known scoops because of its curvy structure. In those early days under arm bowling was more prominent and the scoop type of bats was more preferred. As the game evolved and cricket adopted over arm bowling, the structure of the bats were changed.

A cricket bat is a special cricket equipment used by the batsman to hit the ball in the sport of cricket. Its use is first mentioned in 1624. It is made up of willow wood from trees. Specifically from White Willow which is called as the cricket bat willow. It is treated with raw linseed oil (un-boiled) for protection. The life of the bat in the early days heavily depended upon this oil protection.

Basically, a bat consists of three sections. The handle is used for support by the batsman. Technically the batsman holds the bat in its handle area. The shoulder is meant for supporting the blade and the handle. Basically it is the joining area of the handle and the bat’s blade. Toe denotes the end part of the bat.

Laws of cricket states that a bat should not be more than 38 inches (965 mm) long and its blade should not be more than 4.25 inches (108 mm) wide. This rule was eventually implied or made thanks to the famous incident of a cricketer in the early century using a bat that blocked the whole stumps from view. A regular bat typically weighs between 1.1 to 1.4 kgs. However there is no restriction on this as people use the bats based on their individual likes. We all know that a famous cricketer called Sachin Tendulkar once used a bat that was around 2.2 kgs. The middle section of the bat is the strongest and as expected, a player gets more power when he middles the ball. The blade is crafted in such a way that there is more wood in the middle. A Cricket bat comes in three types. Tennis Ball cricket bats, Club Cricket bats and professional cricket bats. The latter being used in international games and the former for fun and hobby.

The handle is covered with a cloth sleeve in early days or rubber as the game evolved. This material is used for enhancing the batsman’s grip of his bat. Even the style and make of such grips has evolved over the years.

In early days, the bats were handmade. They made it from white willow, used linseed oil for protection purpose. And cricketers seasoned the bats for about 6 months or so with an old cricket ball before using it in a match. Significantly only after then, the bats were strong and usable in games. This art of bat making is called as PODSHAVING.

However as the game modernized, who has the time for seasoning and stuff. The quality of bats has improved enormously. These days they are machine made.