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19y

Cricket-ICC to review legality of Ponting's high-tech bat

LONDON, April 22 - A newly designed bat used by
Australia captain Ricky Ponting will be discussed by the
International Cricket Council (ICC) next month after an
investigation into its legality.

An ICC statement on Friday said that Ponting would be
allowed to continue to use the bat, which is reinforced by
carbon graphite, but denied media reports that it had already
been cleared.

The world governing body said the matter was being looked
into by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and the ICC Cricket
Committee, chaired by former India captain Sunil Gavaskar.

"The ICC is growing increasingly concerned with issues
surrounding the way in which bats are manufactured and
`enhanced'," chief executive Malcolm Speed said in the
statement.

"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."

Ponting started using the Kookaburra bat in Australia late
last year. The matter will be discussed at an ICC Cricket
Committee meeting on May 16 and 17 in Dubai.

In the late 1970s, former Australian fast bowler Dennis
Lillee was banned from using an aluminium bat in a test against
England.

Speed added that the MCC, as "the guardian of the Laws of
the game", was the right body to investigate the issue and
rejected criticism that it should not be involved.

"The issues with the current bat may be resolved, but that
does not change the fact that the last thing that the sport
wants is that, at some point in the future, the equivalent of
golf's titanium driver is introduced without a full and proper
debate. The MCC must be allowed to properly consider any new
design."

The statement also said the ICC was worried about the
"corking" of bats -- a practice also linked to baseball where
the inside of bats is replaced by cork to make them lighter and
easier to swing.
Speed added: "There is a lot of responsibility resting on
the bat manufacturers to ensure that the equipment that they
produce conforms to the Laws of the game and we want them to
meet this responsibility."

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