New rules to limit bat size, trouble for big hitters?
As a part of Marylebone Cricket Club's new code of laws, limitations were announced for bat dimensions. The new limits will be 108 mm in width, 67 mm in depth, and 40 mm thickness for edges. After this, boundaries may not come cheap for heavy hitters like Chris Gayle, MS Dhoni, and David Warner, who will need to swap their bats for lighter models.
Big men bigger bats
While Chris Gayle and David Warner have bats with an edge thickness of 50 mm, MS Dhoni's bat has a thickness of 45 mm, all of which exceed the new limit.
How will the bat size be checked?
The new bat dimension rule set, which will take effect from 1 Oct 2017, will be kept in check by using a bat gauge. The bat size limitation was recommended in July 2016 by the MCC's World Cricket Committee which has prominent members like Sourav Ganguly, Ricky Ponting, and Kumar Sangakkara. There was no law restricting edge thickness prior to the new rule.
Why is there a change in rule?
Heavy bat size has long been a topic of debate, as batsmen using massive bats get an undue advantage. In this light, the decision to limit bat dimensions is an effort to bring a fair balance between bat and the ball. This would also bring down the number of "mis-hits off the edge or toe of the bat flying over the boundary for sixes."
MCC report : Observations on bat size
An MCC report from 2014 observed that the "thickness of bats had increased up to 22 mm in the past century and edges by almost 300%, resulting in mis-hits travelling much further" (at times beyond boundary).
