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The secret behind Sachin's magical bat
Does Sachin Tendulkar's bat fit Marylebone Cricket Club regulations?
According to cricket-supply guru, Harry Solomons, who owns Kingsgrove Sports Centre, which once employed the Waugh brothers, 'Sachin's bats look wide, but they are regulation width. It's the thick edges that make it look bigger.
The MCC's Laws of Cricket state:
(a) The overall length of the bat, when the lower portion of the handle is inserted, shall not be more than 38in/96.5cm;
(b) The width of the bat shall not exceed 4.25in/10.8cm at its widest part and
(c) Permitted coverings, repair material and toe guards, not exceeding their specified thicknesses, may be additional to the dimensions above.
'Sachin's bats are English willow, with a thick profile'
The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Solomon as saying: 'I was having lunch two days ago with the guy who makes his bat.
"His bats are English willow, with a thick profile, massive edges which he likes, and he also likes his bats to be heavily bowed.'
This refers to the curvature of the face of the bat.
'When he was with [previous bat sponsor] MRF his bats were close to three pounds,' Solomons said.
'Sachin's bat is much heavier than Ponting's'
They are also heavy, a result of having to share a full-sized bat with his brother when he was a kid.
To put that in context, the bat used by 193cm West Indies great Clive Lloyd - who was renowned for using a gigantic heavy bat - weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces. Tendulkar is 165cm.
'Now he's gone a little bit lighter. But he still likes a big, thick, heavy bat, much heavier than, say, Ponting's bat.
'The bat Tendulkar uses now is 2lb 12oz.'
'Getting facts about Sachin's bats is not easy'
It's not easy getting the facts about Tendulkar's bats because just about everyone claims they are the great man's official supplier.
'A lot of manufacturers give him handmade bats because it looks good for them to say they made a bat for Tendulkar,' Solomons said.
'He gets inundated - and then gives them away to poor kids.'
Sachin has signed a deal with Adidas
For the record, Tendulkar signed a deal with Adidas last year.
The SG factory in India makes his bats.
The bats are available in Australia, known as the Sachin Tendulkar Master Blaster Elite and retail for about 650 dollars.