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Australian Bats Compared to Indian Bats

 

Ever noticed that the type of bat Indian batsmen use is very different from the type of bat Australians use? Cricketers from each nation use bats with very different shapes, with the shapes dictated by the pitch conditions. James Laver explains why.

 

Australia has fast, bouncy pitches that reward fast bowling and short balls. Bat speed is important to allow for the faster pitches, and the middles need to higher as the full range of shots, especially hooks and pulls are an important part of the game.

 

Australia also has fast outfields so batsmen get value for shots without having to thrash the ball, or without having a hugely heavy bat. As some batsmen gain experience, however, they move to a slightly heavier bat to get more value for their shots. Justin Langer is a classic example of this. He started out in his International career with bats about 2lb 5 oz, and now uses a bat closer to 2lb 8oz or 2lb 9 oz.

 

To gain better bat speed with a heavier bat requires a perfectly balanced bat with wood in the right areas. This almost certainly demands a hand made bat, as machine made bats do not usually take into account the differences in the individual clefts.

 

Indian bats, by contrast, are heavier with a lower middle with a lot of wood behind the middle, and usually have a bowed blade. Sourav Ganguly’s bats are a perfect example of this, and reflect the type of conditions Indian batsmen predominantly play in.

Indian pitches tend to be low and slow, with slow out fields. To get value for shots batsmen need more weight behind their bat, and the low pitches means that short balls are unusual so batsmen can trade off bat speed for bat weight to hit the ball further. The bow in the bat helps pick the ball up and loft it, often a necessary part of the game on the sub continent. Slow bowling means batsmen have to generate power rather than using the momentum of the ball, and a heavier bat allows more power to be generated.

One of the biggest and most noticeable contrasts in bats is between Sachin Tendulkar and Justin Langer. Neither are big men, but Tendulkar carries a slightly heavier bat with a very low middle and slightly different blade/handle combinations. Langer has a much lighter bat with a higher middle and in a standard short handle size.

James Laver’s Recommendation

Players who bat in the nets twice a week and once in the weekend are best to use a bat slightly lighter than the internationals are using. Players who bat every day in the nets for years have built up strength in the forearms and are far better able to manage a slightly heavier bat properly than the average club player.

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James Laver
Senior Bat Maker - Laver & Wood
james@laverwood.co.nz
www.laverwood.co.nz
Laver & Wood
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