Ponting's bat yet to be cleared as ICC grows increasingly concerned over bats

Contrary to media reports, the International Cricket Council has not cleared Ricky Ponting's newly designed cricket bat and has only given temporary permission for the bat to be used pending the advice of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the ICC Cricket Committee which is chaired by former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar.

In a letter to the manufacturer on 16 March 2005 the ICC advised:

"As you are aware, MCC has been considering the issue of whether your reinforced bats comply with Laws 6.1 and 6.2. The ICC has determined that, pending the completion of this review, it will allow the bats to be used in international cricket."

The letter goes on to confirm that the matter will be raised at the ICC Cricket Committee meeting on 16 and 17 May in Dubai.

"In the meantime, while reserving and without prejudice to its rights to determine that the reinforced bats do not comply with the Laws, the ICC is prepared to continue to allow the use of the bats in international cricket pending the outcome of the ICC Cricket Committee's deliberations."

ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, confirmed that the ICC is closely examining a number of issues relating to the manufacture of bats beyond this individual case and that these will also be raised with the representatives from all countries at the meeting in Dubai.

"The ICC is growing increasingly concerned with issues surrounding the way in which bats are manufactured and `enhanced'. During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 there were a number of oversized bats detected and manufacturers were put on notice that it was expected that they would produce bats that comply with the laws at all times," said Mr Speed.

"There is a lot of responsibility resting on the bat manufacturers to ensure that the equipment that they produce conforms to the Laws of the game and we want them to meet this responsibility.

"It is the duty of the ICC to make sure that the bats that players are using comply with the Laws and we need to be able to ensure that we can properly assess bats to make sure that they comply with the Laws.

"One of the concerns we currently have is with the practice of `corking' bats. We are getting consistent reports of bats being corked and that is something that we will be investigating further. One of the potential implications that arises if corking is taking place is that we may need to be able to be able to see the blade clearly from all angles to see if it has been tampered with."

Mr Speed also took exception to criticism of both the bat manufacturer and Mr Ponting's agent that the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) should not be examining new bat designs.

Mr Speed said that it was disappointing that a bat manufacturer and an agent, both of whom have a vested interest in the new design being accepted, had chosen to make inaccurate and disparaging comments on the role of the MCC in protecting the Laws and Spirit of the game.

"Comments from a manufacturer in Australia and an agent suggesting that the MCC should not be spending time fulfilling this important role are extremely disappointing," said Mr Speed.

"The MCC is the guardian of the Laws of the game and ensuring that new designs and technologies used in bat manufacture are in keeping with the Laws is exactly what MCC should be doing.

"The issues with the current bat may be resolved, but that does not change the fact that the last thing that the sport wants is that, at some point in the future, the equivalent of golf's titanium driver is introduced without a full and proper debate. The MCC must be allowed to properly consider any new design.

"Changes in equipment have the potential to dramatically affect the way a game is played. We need to proceed with care in dealing with design and technology issues in relation to new equipment to ensure that we fully understand the impact it may have. The MCC has an essential role to play in this area and it should be respected.

"Given the overall concerns and experiences that we have had with oversize bats and corked bats, this is a matter that needs to be carefully considered."