‘Mongoose’- the bat lost in History

Do you remember the third season of IPL? When Matthew Hayden came to bat against Delhi Daredevils. His entry elicited more excitement than usual among the viewers. Well, audience were not just eager to see his hard hitting shots, it was the bat he used to hit those shots.  ‘Matt the bat’ also known as Mongoose.  A miniature version of a regular cricket bat which was only made to increase the probability of hitting high and out of the ground. Its 5cm base was made for sweet timings. In short, its lighter base made the batsman to swing his arm freely and a mistiming can also see a ball to fly over the boundary.  But when it is all about IPL, there is no other bat more efficient than Mongoose. But the bat has its share of problems as well.  With longer handle and shorter blade, this bat was not designed for defence and one need to be more careful while pushing the ball for a single or two.   Many experts opined that it will take some time to get accustomed with this newer version of cricket bat and it is saturated only to T-20 cricket. It is virtually impossible to play Tests and even ODI’s. This was also the reason behind ‘Mongoose’ to get erased from IPL.  And also Matthew Hayden, who volunteered himself with this bat retired after 2010 IPL and no other batsman dared to volunteer himself with the bat.