Are there any restrictions for the height and width of the blade and handle of a cricket bat?

Question

Are there any restrictions for the height and width of the blade and handle of a cricket bat? I noticed that some players are using bats with short blades(Mongoose).

Answer 1

According to Law 6 of the Laws of Cricket, the length of the bat may be no more than 38 in (965 mm) and the width no more than 4.25 in (108 mm). If you wish to cover the blade with tape etc., the covering permitted for standard bats have to be of thickness not exceeding 0.012 in (0.3 mm) before treatment.

When it comes to the handle, it should not exceed 52% of the overall length of the bat.

Answer 2

History of cricket bats

The term cricket bat was first mentioned in 1624. In that time, the bats used to be in the shape of hockey stick because bowlers used to ball underarm ball as there was no bowling rules mentioned.

During 1970's, there was change in cricket rule and bowlers could bowl the length ball as well. Hence, the cricket bat was modified and sides were made parallel with and handle was made thin. This cricket bat is similar to the modern bats used nowadays but, the bat was very heavy and had little stroke in comparison.

It was 1835, the first round arm bowling was allowed and it was necessary to modify the weight of bat and make it lighter so that batsman could pick it and use it with ease. During the same period, bats were first manufactured using more than one piece before this time, cricket bat used to be made of a single wood used to break very fast.

When the size was been fixed and How much ?

In the year 1835, the maximum length of the cricket bat was fixed. The maximum length of bat was fixed 38 inches at that time which is also same in present context.

In 1864, the over war bowling was allowed and there was more lightening of bat and refining of the blade. There is no any significant history about the cricket bat until 2010.

In year 2010, the mongoose bat was launched for the first time which is specially designed for the T20 cricket. Mongoose bat blade is 33% longer than normal blade and handle is 43% longer than normal bat handle. With the growth of T20 cricket and Hong Kong Super sixes, we might see cricket bats with other variety too in near future.

Cricket Bats size and dimensions

There are some limits about size and shape of bats as marked by the ICC cricket.

Cricket Bats Length: Cricket Bats are classified into bat size 1, bat size 2 an so on on the basis of the height of the bat.
Size 5 Bat: Height from 4'-11" to 5'-2"
Size 6 Bat: Height from 5'-3" to 5'-4"
Harrow Bat: Height from 5'-4" to 5'-5"
Academy Bat: Height from 5'-6" to 5'-9"
Full Size Cricket Bats: Height above 5'-9"
Size 1 bats to size 4 bats are very small in size and are never used in international cricket. These size bats are used by kids. Full Size Bats are the bats that are generally used in international cricket. Full size bats are also categorized in to 2 categories, short handle bat and long handle bats. Short handle bats are from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet two inches and above this, the bat is called long handle bats. Long handle bats are not allowed in international cricket as marked by ICC.
Maximum Height Of a Cricket Bat Fixed By ICC: 38 inches or 6 feet 2 inches.

Cricket Bats Width:
Cricket Bats width is relative to its height. For the certain height of the bat, it width is also generally fixed certain. Here is the list for cricket bats width according to its height.
Size 5 Bat : 4 feet Size 6 Bat : 4 feet Harrow Bat : 4 feet 2 inches Academy Bat : 4 feet 3 inches Maximum width Of The Cricket Bat Marked By ICC: 108 mm ( nearly 4 feet 3 inches)

Weight Of Cricket Bat:

There is no precise weight how heavy a bat should be. Generally, the international level cricket bats are within the range of 1.1kg to 1.4kg. International players like Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar used to play with heavy bat in their early days but, the trend of playing with heavy bat has changed drastically.