Battling the cricket bat's bulge and the decline of the touch game

This Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the administrators have decided to check bat sizes on match days using a standard gauge

The stunned look of disbelief on Barry Richards’ face said it all. In one hand, the extravagantly gifted former South African opener was holding the bat with which he scored 325 runs in a single day in a Sheffield Shield game in 1970. In the other, he gripped David Warner’s modern-day weapon — the iconic Kaboom. Richards’ bat from a bygone era was slim and understated, while the Kaboom had massive edges, light pickup, and unmatched power. The contrast could not have been more staggering.

 

In 2015, Richards called for a serious reassessment of bat technology to restore parity between