The Mongoose secret is out : Akash Chopra

[Sachinism]

Cricket bats have looked roughly the same for at least a hundred years, but the Mongoose is a radically different animal. “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 Mongoose is the brainchild of inventor Marcus Codrington Fernandez, a former creative director at the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. When he was forced out of the office by a stroke, Codrington Fernandez spent a couple of months laid up in bed, dreaming about ways to improve the boring old cricket bat. His first conclusion was that, in the age of Twenty20 cricket, there is no point in having all that wood around the bat’s shoulders. The splice has no offensive capability in any case. So you might as well lengthen the handle, and make the blade shorter and heavier. The average Mongoose has a toe that is about two inches thick, which means that even the perfect yorker can be driven for four. And when you take this rigid chunk of wood – effectively an 18-inch railway sleeper – and stick it on the end of an equally long handle, it starts to act like a giant golf club. Law admits that he would think twice before using his sawn-off Mongoose against Steve Harmison. When the ball is flying around your nostrils, the shoulders of the old-fashioned bat have an important role to play. But he believes that on slow, low pitches – like the ones you encounter on the sub-continent, or in English club cricket – the Mongoose can double your power. In another parallel with golf, Codrington Fernandez suggests that cricketers of the future might go into a match with a variety of bats, only bringing out the more destructive ones for for the PowerPlay overs. This, in fact, just what Law plans to do on Tuesday, when Derbyshire play Durham in the Twenty20 Cup. However, Keith Bradshaw, the MCC secretary, was sceptical about the multi-bat concept last night. “Our cricket committee had no objections to the Mongoose, as it is made entirely of traditional materials,” he said. “But I would question the idea of swapping bats in mid-innings. It might slow things down, and I’m not sure it’s within the spirit of the game.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/twenty20/5370046/Mongoose-cricket-bat-set-to-take-Twenty20-by-storm.html Watch a video here

[King]

Bowlers will bowl only bouncers if they see a bat like that. Back foot punches, hook shots, cut shots won't be as consistent with that bat. Further more a hit from 140 k bowling on the handle will mean bat/handle will need to be replaced often. "Cricket" isn't golf and there's nothing wrong experimenting but this is stupidity. On another note, what happens to blokes like Sachin or Sehwag that hold the bottom of the handle?

The Mongoose is the brainchild of inventor Marcus Codrington Fernandez, a former creative director at the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. When he was forced out of the office by a stroke, Codrington Fernandez spent a couple of months laid up in bed, dreaming about ways to improve the boring old cricket bat.

A creative director at the advertising agency created the bat. No wonder it's like modern art, everyone pays a price but none understands it. If you engaged a interior designer he/she would have come up with even better looking cricket bat with useless curves everywhere.

[Shehezaada]

very cool idea but as Ravi mentioned, the handle's a bit too long. For people that hold the bat at the bottom..there's going to be a lot of injuries for the hand.

[gaurav92]

dhoni will hate it and so will everyone who loves to play cricket

[Dooks]

I think, ICC may reject it as illegal. I think there a some laws to the length, width and thickness of the bat. It seems to be thick compared to the normal bat. It may be OK for 20-20 but not for other forms.

[Sachinism]

I think, ICC may reject it as illegal. I think there a some laws to the length, width and thickness of the bat. It seems to be thick compared to the normal bat. It may be OK for 20-20 but not for other forms.

Its been passed by ICC Stuart Law will be using it in T20 matches

[cowboysfan]

batsmen change their bats all the time in the middle of an innings-whats to stop a batsman from changing his bat after 15 overs have been bowled in a t20 game when they are looking to hit every ball out of the park-at that time the only shot for a short ball will be a hook and this bat will be useful for that shot.

[Shehezaada]

Bowlers will bowl only bouncers if they see a bat like that. Back foot punches, hook shots, cut shots won't be as consistent with that bat. Further more a hit from 140 k bowling on the handle will mean bat/handle will need to be replaced often. "Cricket" isn't golf and there's nothing wrong experimenting but this is stupidity. On another note, what happens to blokes like Sachin or Sehwag that hold the bottom of the handle? A creative director at the advertising agency created the bat. No wonder it's like modern art, everyone pays a price but none understands it. If you engaged a interior designer he/she would have come up with even better looking cricket bat with useless curves everywhere.

at the same time if the batsmen gets it in the middle of that thing, even if it's short, it's GONE.

[JayStarz]

I don't like the bat personally. I don't think many players besides the 'newer' generation of players (e.g. Pieterson) would appreciate this kinda bat, it could lead to disaster lol

[gaurav92]

stuart law plaing T20...ha he really needs some of these kinds to get @ least run a ball.........coz its not a test cricket,.....stuart law suxxxxxxx in T20s....:hehe:

[King]

One possible situation where players can use this is against spinners but you can't swap bats every other over though. Spinners aren't quick and can't do too much damage so this bat may come in handy.

[Feed]

The Mongoose secret is out : Akash Chopra Matthew Hayden allowed his Mongoose bat to run riot against the Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Whenever he hit the ball, it stayed hit. But haven't we already seen Hayden doing exactly the same with a regular bat? More... The Mongoose secret is out Aakash Chopra March 22, 2010 Matthew Hayden allowed his Mongoose bat to run riot against the Delhi Daredevils at the Ferozeshah Kotla. Whenever he hit the ball, it stayed hit. But haven't we already seen Hayden doing exactly the same with a regular bat? So, what is the difference between a regular and a Mongoose bat? For starters, the blade is remarkably shorter than the regular bat — 33 per cent to be precise. But it weighs as much as the regular bat. The weight, which is taken away from the top, is redistributed in the remaining half. It bears a striking resemblance to the bat we use during fielding drills. The bat we use for fielding is a lot lighter than the regular bat, which is perhaps one of the reasons for using it. Hitting hundreds of balls during fielding drills takes a toll on the arm and that's why most people prefer using a smaller bat. Also, since you mostly have to hit a stationary ball, the lack of blade isn't a concern. A competitive match doesn't give you such luxuries. A first look at the Mongoose bat made me believe that the bowlers would easily get through under the bat. Bowling yorkers would prove to be an easy way to get rid of the dangerous man. Perhaps, even the Delhi bowlers thought along similar lines and bowled yorkers. But Hayden had it all planned. Obviously, we didn't take into account the length of the handle, which is remarkably longer to make up for the shorter blade. Looks can be deceptive and that small-looking thing in the hands of someone as huge as Hayden deceived everyone. Another apprehension that baffled my mind was on how effective this Mongoose bat would be on the sub-continental slow-low tracks. Yes, the bat has a bigger 'sweet spot' but what about the balls hitting the bottom of the bat? But my doubts in this regard were put to rest when I spoke to the director of the company which produced these bats. According to him, the Mongoose bat has three times more wood at the bottom than the conventional bat, which allows the batsman to hit even the yorkers and the low full-tosses with a lot of power. But the clincher on the Mongoose bats came when the director confirmed that, "this bat is made for playing in T20 and not in the other formats". And the reason for this is that the missing top half of the bat makes playing the short-pitched deliveries slightly difficult. It also doesn't give you any backup in case of uneven bounce. You either hit the ball or run the risk of getting hit on the body. Obviously then, Hayden is willing to punt in order to hit bigger and better.

[achilles]

Go Aakash. KKR's called you as a backup for the CSK games :cheer:

[straight.drive]

Will this bat stand against top quality fast bowling on pitches like perth and Durban? Longer handle and smaller wooden portion means that the batsmen will have to be deadly accurate while fending off short pitch stuff..

[Mr Eintstein]

Will this bat stand against top quality fast bowling on pitches like perth and Durban? Longer handle and smaller wooden portion means that the batsmen will have to be deadly accurate while fending off short pitch stuff..

or just pick the length early, and swing hard. even if it comes of the toe, thats still a good 3 inches of wood to send it over. the back foot, straight bat defense is a no-no shot with the bat i think.

[Guest DeveGowda]

Ganguly should try this bat today...:winky: