The Mysterious Mongoose Bat!

Vidit Bhargava

We've heard of people trying variations with the bat since the game has evolved. In the early days a bat more like a hockey stick was used to play the game. It gradually changed to the bat we use today. Later in the 20th century Dennis Lillee played with an 'Aluminium Bat'. No problems with that but the ball, it weared off.

Getting the batsmen to hit away from the sweet spot and get them cought was one of the important techniques used by the bowlers. This was the only way to restrict the batting team to a respectible total. We saw it get vanquished for the first time in commercial television when Mathew Hayden used the 'Mongoose' bat against the Daredevils in IPL 3.

Sunil Gavaskar the legendary Indian Batsman feels there is no problem with the bat but he doesn't understand why it is called the 'Mongoose Bat' this is the queastion in mind of many people. Well, Mongoose is just the name of the company which makes cricket bats. Their Product Mongoose MMI3 is the bat which has caused thunder in the world of cricket very recently.

How is it different from a normal bat? If you've seen the pics you'll already know that. Its got a longer grip and a shorter blade. Which is just opposite to the normal bat! At this point you'll be asking yourself "How on Earth does that improve the batting experience? At the end its upto the batsmen, right?" THe Mongoose MMI3 has got no dead spot and most importantly the whole of the blade is the Sweet Spot. You can hit from any part of the bat, the ball for a mighty six.

Er...What about the bottom? The bowlers can still bowl yorkers and put a halt to this bat? Thats what the bowlers did when the batsmen used normal bats. With the Mongoose coming into commercial cricket you would know how foolish is it to bowl in that area now! The weight of the bat that was removed from the top is now given to its bottom. Quite Technical!, yes and also this creates the sweet spot and the end of the bat also. So the weight remains the same, no hassles to use it. And you have a very new way of attacking the yorkers.

You would have found out that since the blade is small, bowling short pitched deliveries will give a sure shot result. Sure Shot result, yes, but not in the bowler's favor. The mongoose bat has been scientifically proven to provide 15% faster speed so the cuts, hooks and pulls you play on a short bowl can be hit better. And remember, if you play the short a little early then also the tip of the end of the bat can hit for the desired result!

The inventor of the bat, Marcus Codrington-Fernadez says in an interview that the bat is specifically designed for 20-20 cricket. Yes, it's main purpose is that. But even if you play test cricket or 50 overs cricket with the Mongoose MMI3 you can easily defend the ball. No Problems.

Where does the problem lie in the bat? What is wrong with this one? You'll be itching to know that. The problem is with the Habit. Yes, the Habit of using a normal bat. So I suggest never use the mongoose for the first time directly in a match. YOu will need atleast 21 days of practice before you can take it on the pitch. Why I say 21 days is because, it takes almost that much time to get into a habit. And if you are not in the habit of using it. You'll find the bat extremely fast. Extremely Small some times. And you'll rather be concentrating on that than the batting.

I know how it would feel to the bowlers, but I would just say, "Come on guys you are the ones with the actual brains in the game, you can easily think of the way to get this so called perfect bat out!"

I know most of you would be ready to go to the mongoose store to buy this one but wait listen to the price first! It's a whooping Rs. 17000! You would only want to shell that money if you are a professional won't you? And yes, like any other bat you can still make it with any wood for home purpose!

Oh yes, A Did you know fact: The Mongoose MMI3 was introduced in May 2009 in English County. Hayden is not the first one to use it!

Given below are two videos I would love to share they explain more about the bat in detail.