Special bats for Pakistan openers

Pakistan's much-troubled opening batsmen will be relying on special custom-made bats to help them repel England's pace attack when their tour begins next month.

According to Reuters, Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Salman Butt will have special bats made to try to help them counter the unfamiliar pitch conditions. "There is always some sideways movement in England. These lightweight bats with a soft press and special blade will make things more comfortable for our players," Fayyaz Ahmed, a consultant for MT Techniques, told Reuters.

Ahmed, a former first-class player, works in a small factory in Sialkot, famous for manufacturing sports goods, including cricket gear. "The idea is to make bats for Malik and the others with which they feel more comfortable. Their bats will be ready to use but have more punch and their handles will also be more shock absorbent."

MT techniques also work to produce hand-crafted bats with Kookaburra. These include the controversial graphite-reinforced model used by Australia captain Ricky Ponting which was withdrawn in February following a ruling by the International Cricket Council.