Reducing the size of the bat will make no difference: Lance Klusner

Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusner has recently said that the ICC’s restrictions on the thickness of the edge of the bat and the depth will not bring positive results. The all-rounder used to carry a heavy bat just like Australia’s David Warner and India’s Sachin Tendulkar among others. Klusner was famous for his base-ball style hitting and cameos.

The changes will come into effect from September 28th onwards. The ongoing series between India and Australia won’t witness the changes. The South Africa-Bangladesh series will see the new initiatives along with the Pakistan-Sri Lanka fixtures.

Klusner not in favor of the change

“Big 6s come out of the middle of the bat so reducing the size of the bat edges to me make no difference. Bat makers may need to reshape / rebalance bats” he said. “T20 cricket has forced all batsman to learn the technique if 6 hitting and forced batters to swing harder. Improved fitness /Strength levels of players in general also help in hitting many more boundaries than we have seen in the past”, he added further.

“Sweet-spot is In the middle at the highest point of the ridge of the bat. The better the wood the bigger the sweet spot”, Klusner concluded.

In its new Playing Conditions, the ICC has specified : “There are no changes to the permitted width and length of a cricket bat, but the thickness of the edge can be no more than 40mm, and the thickness of the bat must not exceed 67mm at any point. Umpires will have a gauge to check that bats meet the new regulations”.

The latest rules attracted debates across playing nations, with many former greats going in favor and against the changes. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting played a key role in bringing the bat size rule into effect while former New Zealand great Brendon McCullum spoke against it.