TOPOGR APHICAL 1600s The Cricket-staffe 1740s Straighter shape 1770s Maximum width of 4.25” (10.8cm) Bat to basics FOR MANY, the thwack! of a cricket bat 1830s Length restricted to 38” (96.5cm) connecting to a ball – and a commenta- tor’s laconic drawl – is the soundtrack to an Aussie summer. Leather on wood has echoed across ovals here since 1804, when a match was first reported as a highlight of a blistering January. Rivalry with the mother country began hotting-up in 1861, when England first toured Down Under. Apart from a few notable exceptions, bats 1850s Cane splice-handles were still largely British-made until the 1940s; English willow was the only wood considered tough enough for a bowling season. Commonwealth sister colony, 1860s Development of shoulders India, chipped in with the rubber for grips from the late 1800s, but it wasn’t until supplies dried up during World War II that we began making our own in earnest. Nowadays a number of companies manu- facture bats here, but it’s still bespoke 1980s Australia’s aluminium bat controversy craftsmen, or ‘pod-shavers’, that create century-makers for the pros. 2000s Twenty20 bats introduced Now Modern-day bat The Cricket-staffe Thomas White of Ryegate “brought a Development of shoulders Developed in 2004, the T20 bats have 1600s In a 1611 dictionary, the bat to a match, which being the width 1860s The laws were altered to allow elongated handles and shorter blades. meaning of the French noun of the stumps, effectively defended his overarm bowling. Bats By 2008 the T20 bats were 33 per cent ‘crosse’ refers to: “A Crosier or Bishop’s wicket from the bowler”, a law was became lighter again, and their sloped shorter than conventional bats and had staffe; also, a Cricket-staffe; or, the passed limiting the width to 4.25” top developed shoulders to give more handles that were 43 per cent longer. crooked staffe wherewit boyes play at (10.8cm). This is still enforced today. ‘face’ for higher bouncing deliveries cricket.” The bat was a curved stick, – and to stop high nicks off the bat. Modern-day bat shaped like a modern hockey stick, Length restricted to 38” Handles became intricate constructions Now Modern bats must conform 1830s ideal for the underarm-bowling style. Bats were restricted to 38” and were nearly all made of cane with to the regulatory maximum (96.5cm) in total length, which Indian-rubber grips. width and length. However, they are Straighter shape remains the maximum allowed today. now thicker and heavier – weight has 1740s Cricket became more formal- Round-arm bowling was legalised in Australia’s aluminium been redistributed to increase the ised with the introduction of the 1835 code, meaning there was 1980s bat controversy ‘sweet spot’ (where the ball should laws, but there was no limit on bat size, more bounce in deliveries. Bats then The Laws of Cricket were strike), and the swell reaches up to length or weight. Although bats were became straight sided and lighter, amended to ensure that the blade of a 8.5cm in some models. Bigger sweet becoming straighter, they were still with a higher swell for balance. cricket bat was made solely of wood. spots, combined with boundary ropes slightly curved for the sweeping style of This was a direct reaction to Australian set well inside arena fences, mean more hitting suited to underarm bowling. Cane splice-handles cricketer Dennis Lillee’s use of an sixes are being hit than ever before. 1850s Cane splice-handles were aluminium bat during a test match Maximum width of 4.25” introduced from the early at the WACA ground in Perth in 1979. 1770s Bats were heavy and had 1840s, replacing solid willow bats. The AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC thanks David begun to develop a ‘swell’ splice, originally ash or willow, assisted Twenty20 bats introduced Studham at the National Sports Museum, (hump or thickest part) on the lower with shock absorption in the handle as 2000s The advent of the Twenty20 the National Museum of Australia and the FROM TOP: LORD’S MUSEUM (LM); LM; LM; BRADMAN MUSEUM TRUST COLLECTION (BMTC);AUSTRALIA/GEORGE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SERRAS/A.E. STODDART LM; 1897; BMTC; MONGOOSE BAT, CRICKET; KOOKABURRA SPORT back to add power to the swing. After bowling got faster and harder. game led to a specific bat. Bradman Museum Trust. January–February 2014 19.