Getting a handle on better batting grip
AFTER five years in the making, a revolutionary cricket bat grip hit the market this week.
The brainchild of former Black Cap Rob Hart, and fellow 2mm Sports founders David Richardson (senior) and son Dave Richardson (junior), the design is promoted to be the world’s first functional imprint of a technically perfect grip.
Rather than your standard consistent texture, the new grip is shaped with various lumps and bumps to allow better contact on the bat and to make players more likely to consistently maintain a perfect grip. As Hart puts it: ‘‘It’s uncomfortable to hold the bat wrong.’’
Adult and youth versions have been created to cater for all levels of cricket, and while it is effectively a one-size-fits-all, the grips have deliberately been made long so some of the top or bottom can be cut off depending on what level the player wants it at on the bat.
The product has been patented in most cricket playing countries.
The Richardsons are both professional cricket coaches and wanted to solve a difficult problem, having identified the grip as the toughest skill to teach.
Kiwi ingenuity kicked in, in the back shed with a lump of plasticine, and from there a solution was formed to an important issue.
‘‘Players with an effective grip are more likely to play the ball late, hit the ball cleanly and not have to think about their grip when in the heat of competition,’’ Richardson senior said. When Hart was shown the grip a couple of years ago, he immediately saw and felt its potential, and got on board. The company’s name reflects its philosophy on the small things – ‘‘the extra 2mm that take you from great to extraordinary’’, Hart said.
‘‘We believe it’s the small shifts that create amazing results.’’