Let the Mongoose loose....

Graeme Pollock had one. So did Ian Botham. Viv even flirted with one. Interestingly enough they all sported the same sponsors' logo and they became the first real shift towards the execution of extreme power and force. What am I talking about?

The railway sleepers that masqueraded as bats that these three legends used had everyone excited due to the immense impact a three pound weapon could make on a hapless bowler. It wasn't for everyone though. One needed to possess a blacksmith's forearms and wrists that had sinews of steel. Horizontal bat shots required further scrutiny but it represented an amazing swing from the days of Sir Donald Bradman and his two-pound three-ounce willow.

Over the last few years bats have developed at breakneck speed in a calculated effort to strive for perfection and give their sponsored player the edge. They are twice as thick as they used to be, the wood is hardly pressed, they have superior balance and the sweet spot is lowered and magnified. Herschelle Gibbs told me a couple of nights ago that his chosen stick tips the scale at two pounds 12 ounces and "picks up at two pounds eight ounces". There is a downside though. Because the wood is more springy and less pressed, an average life span, considering all the practising and playing nowadays, is rarely longer than three months. Sachin only last night broke his cherished, recent ODI double century bat.

But now there is a different animal on the prowl in IPL 3. It has yet to make its official foray in the gloved control of Matthew Hayden but it won't be far away. He is eager to unleash the Mongoose at the death overs.

It's weird looking for starters. It has a very long handle and a short, stubby blade. Sort of a paddle with supernatural powers.

The secret to the Mongoose lies in the fact that it has an enhanced sweet spot that covers the entire face of the bat. The blade has no dead areas and unlike a conventional cricket bat it is not cojoined. A normal bat has a handle that is fused into the blade by way of a splice and a ball hitting high towards the splice will simply die. That is not the case with this eye catching weapon. The innovative design increases the power of the bat by some 20% and the batspeed by 15% and those two factors combined provide a powerful punch in T20. More leverage when striking can also be applied and it will surprise no-one that when steered by Hayden on form it will become a legal (having been passed by the MCC) weapon of mass destruction.

There is one compromise though. It is a bat that is devoid of defensive capabilities. It will be impossible to use at the start of an innings when the ball is spritely and the bowler willing. Back foot defensive shots would often result in nasty bruises around the rib cage area as the ball would clatter into the body as it missed wood neighbouring the splice that would normally provide a safety barrier with a conventional bat.

It will be fascinating to see how it plays. Matty told me it makes an unbelievable difference.

Let the Mongoose loose!