The Marylebone Cricket Club, cricket’s law-making body, has turned down the idea of bats being made out of bamboo instead of willow, clearing that it would be illegal under current laws.
According to the adopted laws of the game, cricket bats used at the senior level must be made of wood only and can’t have any of the blade laminated.
Law 5.3.2 states much the same, saying that the bats’ blade must be made from wood only. And thus, it will require a change of laws for the use of bamboo in bat-making.
“Any potential amendments to the Law would need to carefully take this into consideration, particularly the concept of the bat producing greater power. The Club has worked hard to ensure that bats aren’t too powerful, taking steps in 2008 and 2017 to limit the materials and the size of the bats for this purpose.”
an MCC statement said.
But the guardians of cricket’s laws do also realise and are understanding of the fact that experiments can be made, depending on the circumstances. It is believed that bamboo bats can help increase cricket’s participation in countries where youngsters can’t always afford to play the game.
“Sustainability is a relevant topic for MCC and indeed cricket, and this angle of willow alternatives should also be considered,”
the MCC said in their statement.
“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,”
the body added.
ESPNcricinfo reported, as per a study at the University of Cambridge, cricket bats made out of bamboo could be more sustainable than the bats made traditionally from a willow. One of the researchers on the matter, Darshil Shah, told the Guardian that the bamboo bat “was stiffer, harder and stronger than those made of willow, although more brittle. It is heavier than a willow bat, and we are looking to optimise that.”
