Root: ‘No issue with small bats’
JOE ROOT insists the International Cricket Council’s calls to reduce the size of bats does not concern him and believes it would make little difference anyway. The ICC’s Cricket Committee, chaired by former India spinner Anil Kumble and including director of England cricket Andrew Strauss and Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene, this week gave MCC, the guardians of the game’s laws, a “strong recommendation” to limit the dimension of bats in order to redress the balance between bat and ball. However, Root says he would not be concerned by any moves by cricket’s rulers to downscale the size of bats. “If rules and regulations are put in place, as a player you just get on with it,” he said. “If they feel that it’s making an unfair advantage to the game then fair enough.
“As a batter you’ve got to be skilful enough and strong enough to find different ways of scoring if restrictions like that are put in place.
“Looking at most of these guys with big bats, they’re hitting it 100 metres anyway so it’s not going to make a huge amount of difference.
“I’d like to think I’d be able to find a way of being successful. My bats aren’t huge anyway. If they are reduced they’re reduced,” said Root.
“I think a lot of people give bats credit but there’s a lot of timing that goes into it – even guys who have a lot of strength, look at someone like Jos Buttler, he hits the ball a long way but a lot of that is timing. That’s a skill.
“Look at his bats in the dressing-room and they’re a lot smaller than a lot of the other guys’ but he hits it miles further so I don’t think it’ll make a huge amount of difference to be honest.”