Remember the bat that tried (and failed) to change cricket? Small but mighty Mongoose promised sixes galore, but didn’t prove to be such a big hit

This weekend marks 15 years since the home of England welcomed a new bat that tore apart tradition and threatened a major revolution.

The arrival of the Mongoose, so named by the marketing people because it was a small and ferocious beast, came during the first innings of Derbyshire’s victory over Durham at Chester-le-Street with Stuart Law 15 balls in an innings of 42.

Australian batsman Law had played himself with a traditional willow, but called for the bat specifically designed for Twenty20 cricket – and six-hitting in particular – as the home attack ushered in the death overs.

With its handle 43 percent longer than its rivals and its body a third smaller but much meatier – a result of weight being taken from the bat’s shoulders and added to the toe, and that the weld in the handle sits in place of the blade itself: the Mongoose’s design made it act like a golf club, increasing bat speed and sending the ball an estimated 20 percent further over the boundary.

Law rather unmercifully called it a ‘half a stone in a stick’, but was nevertheless sharp enough to let it do its bashing.

The Mongoose’s design made it act like a golf club, generating a higher swing speed and sending the ball an estimated 20 percent further over the boundary, but it wasn’t a big hit.

The first results were modest. After galloping to 32, Law mustered just 10 runs from as many balls and was run out in the final over.

However, when the MCC passed over the bat’s validity – wondering whether dumping a traditional-looking blade mid-innings represented an unnecessary delay to proceedings and a challenge to the spirit of the game – it was seen as a tool for ambitious players to get ahead. .

And when Law’s fellow Australian Matthew Hayden used the long handle to best possible effect, producing one blitz of 93 from just 43 deliveries against Delhi to help Chennai Super Kings to the Indian Premier League title the following year, it challenged those who refused to acknowledge this. as something more than a gimmick.

So what stopped it from establishing itself as the bat of choice for the future of cricket?

The simplest answer was the lack of versatility. Players reported that while the dimensions gave the face a 100 percent sweet spot, brilliant for launching into full balls, they were not so good at countering short balls, and they also found it difficult to play defensive shots.

Indeed, Mongoose made it clear that it was not a bat for Test cricket. In 2017, it was a no-go for any form of cricket, following changes to the laws lobbied for by the MCC’s cricket committee.

Concerned about a growing imbalance between bat and ball, prompted by a steady increase in bat thickness, they addressed the power play by limiting maximum bat dimensions to a width of 108mm, a depth of 67mm and edges of 40mm.

Several bat manufacturers’ products began to include edges that were up to 50 percent larger than those of the previous century, and the reduction in wood volume allowed for lower-level bats countered Mongoose’s design, leading them to close in 2019 stop their activities.

The Mongoose was criticized by players for its lack of versatility and was subsequently banned in 2017

Big guns here and ready for a blast

Two of the more successful Twenty20 counties have strengthened their squads by securing last-minute overseas deals ahead of next week’s Vitality Blast.

Hampshire responded to the late unavailability of Afghan side Naveen-ul-Haq by snapping up South African seamer Ottniel Baartman – a champion in the SA20 in both seasons.

He will help compensate for the absence of Nathan Ellis, who is with Australia at the T20 World Cup. Ben McDermott, a Blast winner with the club in 2022, returns for the third year running.

Holders Somerset have lured a bowler with X-factor pace in Riley Meredith – a teammate of Ellis at Hobart Hurricanes. They are one of two clubs without at least two foreign recruits.

Middlesex, partly due to ECB financial constraints, is the other.

Somerset have strengthened ahead of the T20 explosion by signing Australian quick Riley Meredith

Lancashire’s new star was compared to Stokes

Tom Aspinwall may not be a name familiar to county cricket fans, but he has a lot in common with some of the English game’s leading players. Not least test captain Ben Stokes.

Like fellow all-rounder Stokes, Aspinwall grew up, despite being born outside the county, and was part of Cumbria’s age group teams. Comparing notes on their backgrounds would have been a good conversation starter when the pair sat down for dinner last week on the eve of Lancashire’s thrilling County Championship 60-run success over Durham.

The pair are represented by the same management company and met ahead of a match that featured the 20-year-old’s first first-class runs and wickets.

Both come from working-class backgrounds, but unlike Stokes, who turned down the Sedbergh School’s offer of private education, Lancaster-born Aspinwall accepted one of their sports scholarships.

Aspinwall’s bowling has improved his batting so far and his undemonstrative attitude in dismissing opponents this week represented a throwback to a bygone era.