Twenty20 cricket bat testing
A researcher in bioengineering may not be the first person you think of when you need someone to test an innovative new cricket bat design, but Professor Anthony Bull from the Bioengineering Department at Imperial College London was the right consultant for the job.
Anthony’s research is mostly experimental, focusing on two main areas. The first is studying the mechanics of activity in living subjects, such as sitting, walking and running. The second area is based in the lab, testing tissues and joints to find out how they function.
Anthony and his group apply both areas of their research to sport, looking at how our bodies work in a sporting environment.
They have built up respected expertise in the area, leading to approaches from many sporting companies.
But when Mongoose, a company developing cricket bats, first approached Dr Anthony Bull about testing their new design, he wasn’t able to take on their work.
“At the time I was working on a research grant with the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), looking at revising the rules based on the bioengineering of cricket bats. Taking on this consultancy would have been a clear conflict of interest” explains Anthony.
Mongoose contacted Anthony again once the new MCC rules were in place and the bat had been approved for use by the lawmaker, and this time he was happy to accept.
Mongoose are the company behind the MMi3, the innovative new cricket bat design that has taken the Twenty20 cricket world by storm and won the 2010 Sport Industry Award for Technological Innovation.
Anthony used the consultancy work as the basis of a large part of his student’s PhD. “The PhD was funded by the MCC, looking at technology in cricket with a focus on the arm – bowling and batting actions. This consultancy work massively developed the experimental skills of the student.”
A number of tests were conducted on the bat – vibration analysis, bending stiffness and moment of inertia. Mongoose needed to determine that the bat was an improvement on the standard cricket bat, whilst still being within the MCC rules.
Mongoose were happy with the results, publishing them on their website. And Anthony’s research benefitted as the income from the consultancy work was put directly back into the research, funding an extension of the PhD studentship.
“This kind of interaction is key to everything we do.” expands Anthony “Lots of research ideas come through our contacts with industry, and projects like this benefit our students and department.”
