combat

Lakhotia first came to me six months back with the idea of making an aluminium bat.

But the Run-reaper with holes drilled through the edges was banned for damaging the ball, as was the aluminium bat Australian Dennis Lillee used against England in 1979.

DENNIS LILLEE raised England's hackles by marching out to take guard with an aluminium bat in Perth on the 1979-80 Ashes tour.

It is indeed surprising how the MCC, which had years ago turned down Dennis Lillee's attempt to use an aluminium bat and the Swiss cheese bat with holes drilled into the blade for aerodynamic purposes, cleared this bat.

Symonds says cricketing bodies should act fast, either tinkering with rules or schedules, to ensure 50-over cricket doesn"t go the same way as the aluminium bat.

Then there was the aluminium bat he used in a Test against England in Perth in 1979, the on-field incident with Pakistan's Javed Miandad in Perth in 1981, and the famous bet on the outcome of the Headingley Test in 1981 to name but three instances.

They were making their way home through the Bucktown district when they were beaten with an aluminium bat before their handbags were stolen.

There was the creation of Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket, which threatened to split the world game before helping revolutionise it, the famous aluminium bat that prompted a change in the game's laws, and the infamous mid-pitch set-to with Pakistan's Javed Miandad.