David Warner, Steve Smith forced to change bat after new rule kicks in
What's the story?
Australian vice-captain has shunted his old Kaboom bat and has traded it for bats which fall within the new regulations rolled out by the International Cricket Council.
Along with Warner, captain Steve Smith will also have to trade his bat for a new willow with shaved edges to comply with the new regulations.
Although the new regulations are not in place for the ongoing series against India, it is understood that Warner has decided to test out his new armoury to get acquainted with it before the all-important Ashes commences.
The details
Incidentally, the panel which pushed for the reduction in bat sizes was led by former Australian captain Ricky Ponting as he believes that the current set-up has robbed the game of a much-required balance.
However, Warner believes that even with the new bat in his hand, his game will not undergo any drastic change and that he is more the comfortable with complying with the new set of rules.
In case you didn't know
Back in May this year, the ICC ratified a number of rule tweaks which included bat dimensions and player misconduct, in an attempt to make the game a more level playing field for both the batters and bowlers.
Apart from these, several changes to the Decision Review System was also incorporated.
Under the new rules, the bat edges can be no thicker than 40mm or deeper than 67mm from blade to face.
The changes will be rolled out from September 28th.
What’s next?
With the new changes in place, the bat dimensions of almost every player in the world will be same and there will no huge discrepancy in the quality of the willow used.
David Warner’s current bat easily exceeds the new norm as his edges reach 50mm, but he has tweaked it all considering the inevitability around the rule changes.
Author’s take
Bat dimensions have always generated tremendous debates in and around the circle and there was this inherent feeling that the game is too heavily tilted in the favour of the batsmen.
However, with these new rules, one hopes that there is some equilibrium in the game which is so necessary to breed intense competition between bat and ball.
Hence, these new rules are welcome by the ICC.