ICC yet to clear Ponting’s 'newly-designed bat'
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council has yet to clear Ricky Ponting’s newly-designed bat with which the Australian skipper had scored a Test double century against Pakistan in January this year.

ICC said it had only given temporary permission for the bat to be used pending the advice of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the ICC Cricket Committee which is chaired by former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar.

It confirmed that the matter would be raised at the ICC Cricket Committee meeting in Dubai on May 16 and 17, according to reports available here.

In a letter to the manufacturer last month, the ICC advised: “As you are aware, MCC has been considering the issue of whether your reinforced bats comply with Laws 6.1 and 6.2. The ICC has determined that, pending the completion of this review, it will allow the bats to be used in international cricket.

“In the meantime, the ICC is prepared to continue to allow the use of the bats in international cricket pending the outcome of the ICC Cricket Committee’s deliberations”, said the letter.

ICC Chief Executive, Malcolm Speed, confirmed that the ICC is closely examining a number of issues relating to the manufacture of bats beyond this individual case and that these will also be raised with the representatives from all countries at the meeting in Dubai.

“The ICC is growing increasingly concerned with issues surrounding the way in which bats are manufactured and enhanced. During the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 there were a number of oversized bats detected and manufacturers were put on notice that it was expected that they would produce bats that comply with the laws at all times”, said Speed.

He reminded the manufacturers of their responsibility to ensure that the equipment they produce conforms to the Laws of the game “and we want them to meet this responsibility”.●