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Paul Bolton, sports writer for The Sports HQ
The MCC Laws Committee have approved the design of a new cricket bat which could revolutionise stroke-play in Twenty20 cricket.
The Mongoose bat has a longer handle and shorter but thicker blade than conventional cricket bats, with the aim of increasing the power of strokes.
The new bat has been described as “a half-brick on a stick” by former Australia batsman Stuart Law, who is expected to use the Mongoose in Derbyshire’s forthcoming Twenty20 Cup campaign.
“I was sceptical when I first saw it. But after hitting with it, I reckon it will take the world by storm,” Law said.
The new bat has been invented by Marcus Codrington Fernandez, a former creative director at an advertising agency and a keen cricket fan.
Codrington Fernandez decided that a bat should be used for attack rather than defence in Twenty20 cricket and that there was no point in having a long blade.
His re-design has produced a two-inch thick toe and an 18-inch long chunk of wood at the end of a long handle, providing the batsman with greater leverage similar to a golf club.
.The Mongoose complies with the new MCC laws which came into force last October.
“Our cricket committee had no objections to the Mongoose, as it is made entirely of traditional materials,” said Keith Bradshaw, the MCC’s chief executive.
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