Bat-breaking

It seemed too much of a coincidence. First, Mohammed Kaif’s bat breaks in the fourth ODI; the very next match, Balaji’s bat goes t...

It seemed too much of a coincidence. First, Mohammed Kaif’s bat breaks in the fourth ODI; the very next match, Balaji’s bat goes the same way. Bats break all the time, but two in two matches. Coincidence or…? Various theories have been floated, from ISI plots to declining standards in Indian batmaking.

The manufacturers, while declining to comment on the former reason, rule out the latter. ‘‘After all, it’s a piece of wood that can break anytime’’, says Ramesh Kohli of batmakers Vampire. ‘‘A lot of things matter, like what climatic conditions the willow comes from. It is a natural product and it is an inherent feature in bats to break. Handles used to break a lot more often till we perfected the technique with cane from Singapore.’’

Kaif’s bats are manufactured by Sanspareils Greenlands. SG director Paras Anand, while unable to comment on that particular bat, says it could have been a stress fracture. ‘‘That happens because the wood is compressed to take the form it does, and there might have been a fault with the bat. That can’t be ruled out, because though we put bats through a series of quality control measures, it’s impossible to be 100 per cent sure.’’

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Since the bat didn’t split down the front and a big piece fell off the back, Anand suggests it ‘‘could have been the grooves which we scoop out from around the spine as part of the design. It’s not very likely, but is still a possibility.’’

But, adds Anand with a smile, ‘‘You would have noticed that though the bat broke, the ball went for a four.’’

What about Balaji’s bat-break? Aditya Mahajan of BDM suggests that when a bat breaks across the middle as in this instance, it has to be a defect with the bat to start with. ‘‘Because there can’t be a proper reason for it happening otherwise.’’

Anand, however, keeps in mind the fact that it was Shoaib Akhtar bowling, and says, ‘‘Not many batsmen would attack a 95mph delivery and try to hit it across the line. The more you hit across the line, the more the chances are of bats breaking. The impact might have been far too much for the bat.’’

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Kohli agrees, saying, ‘‘I think it was the impact of the ball and not a defect with the bat.’’

It also depends, he says, on how bats are handled and maintained. ‘‘You need to be very careful with them, the way you need to be with tennis rackets. And rackets are made from materials like carbon and graphite and fibre-glass. They still break. So obviously….’’

Wood quality is an important point, agrees, Anand. ‘‘The whiter the blades, the better the bat. The best quality willow — English Willow — is almost completely white. The more redwood there is on the blade, the worse it is. The grains on the willow also make a difference — the straighter the better. Also, both bats and balls are made with natural materials and you can’t say how much force is needed to break the bat or split the leather.’’

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