Meet the man who made the ‘Smart Cricket Bat’

MELBOURNE: The make of the bat, rather than the batsman’s ability to hit the ball, may come to the aid of Indian cricketers, whose early exit from the World Cup, shocked cricket lovers across the world.

A ‘Smart Cricket Bat’ that can minimise vibration felt while batting by 42%, thereby making it easier for the batsman to smash the ball even further with minimum effort, is likely to be commercially available within 18 months.

The brain behind the unique bat is Kerala-born Associate Professor Sabu John from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering. The bat is jointly developed by RMIT, the Australian Research Council, bat manufacturer Kookaburra Sport and sensor company Davidson Measurement.

Active vibration control system has already been in use in baseball bats and tennis racquets. “I thought why not try it on a cricket bat as I always enjoyed playing cricket for pleasure. My son was one of the fastest right hand bowlers in under 12s state level cricket”, says John, who moved to Nigeria as an infant and completed his first degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lagos University.

In 1982, a scholarship to Imperial College brought him to the UK. “I played a lot more cricket with cousins and friends along with pursuing my masters, doctorate and post doctoral research in London”, says John, who was also always drawn to science. “Both my parents were teachers, my father, a mathematician, and mother, a biologist.”

Passion for science and love for cricket has been the inspiration behind the smart bat. The Rs 20,463,946 project uses electro-mechanical sensors and actuators, built into the bat’s handle. The technology is used in collaboration with a vibration-absorbing polymeric-based synthetic material. The materials convert shock waves into heat and dampen vibration by generating waves in the opposite direction.

John says, “The technology increases the “sweet spot” of the cricket bat i.e. the area in which the batsman experiences least impact when hitting the ball hard thereby providing greater control. The main aim is not just to improve the performance of the batsman, but to reduce injuries sustained by top-level batsman and the subsequent pain and agony experienced by them.”

“Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar was out of the game for a long time and one of the reasons was his tennis elbow. The tennis elbow was most definitely the result of vibration. If with the help of technology, we can reduce the injury, it is good for the players and the game”, he adds.

The bat’s key to reducing the “zinging effect” felt by big-hitting batsmen is in its innovative handle. The existing legal rules dictate the blade must be wood, but do not mention the handle. He says, “We have complied with the rules of the game, 90% of the handle is original.”

Quoting the example of rubber, when it was used for the first time in the early 1900s, to reduce vibration, he says, “We have walked the same path, using a new material to reduce vibration.” Traditional cricket bat handles are made of cane with rubber for absorbing shock. John’s  co-researcher on the project — Dr Tom Molyneaux  recently pointed out that  early last century, rubber was considered a ‘high –tech’ material.

“If rubber was allowed over a hundred years ago in cricket bats, the present day law makers of cricket should look at this development in the same light,” says John. He and his team are also carrying out laboratory tests involving other options, including embedded software, hardware and material design.

It was chance that had brought John to Melbourne. “I always escaped the chilling English winters by spending four to five weeks with my uncles in Australia. It was during one of these visits that I met my Australian-Indian wife, who is a medical practitioner. And here I am seduced by the Australian life-style. However, we maintain strong links with the UK and India. We regularly travel for conferences to the UK and spend time with my father, who is now settled in Kumbanad, near Kochi.”

The smart bat is targetted at the premium range, costing approximately Rs 3,393 more than the most expensive bats in the market today, which are priced at Rs 16,968.