New bat pushes ‘boundary’ for disability cricket
A cricket bat for people for disabled people has been designed by a Northumbria University student. Leanne Cracknell, who was a final year Design for Industry student in 2012-2013, worked with disabled cricketer Will Hardy who plays for Newcastle Cricket Club, to come up with the radical new design.
The bat has been designed specifically for cricketers who have lost an upper limb and can be adapted to fit their needs depending on the area and how profound the limb loss is. It features a removable armrest that the player can attach their prosthetic to or rest their shorter arm on, if they have one. They are able to change the size of this depending on the length of their arm. It also has a removable handle which can easily be removed using one hand by pressing a spring button and pulling the handle out. A wide variety of handle shapes, grips and sizes are available to tailor to each player’s specific needs and wants. Leanne, 23, comes from the Isle of Man and said:
“The design allows disabled cricketers to use both arms, just like a non-disabled cricketer, so it allows them to have more momentum and power when they strike the ball."
The new design, which is mostly made from willow just like a traditional bat, has been given approval from the English Cricket Board which has set rules on the types of bat that can be used. There promises to be a rise in the number of people playing disability cricket in the next few years due to investment in the game from the county boards.
Leanne, who also plays for Newcastle Cricket Club, took her inspiration for the bat from the Paralympic Games. She added:
“The concept could be developed for a variety of other sports."
The cricket bat was displayed at the REVEAL: Design show last June. One of the North East’s most anticipated cultural events, REVEAL: Design is respected by many industry professionals and sees hundreds of visitors pass through its doors each year.
Renowned for producing the best new designers Northumbria Design has alumni working for River Island, Abercrombie and Fitch, Apple, Mars, Habitat, Phillips, BBC and Nokia to name a few.
Cricket has no boundaries
As the governing body responsible for all cricket in England and Wales, ECB's vision is to become and remain the world’s leading governing body in providing access to the sport of cricket for disabled people. The organisation wants to deliver a culture of inclusion at all levels within their sport and ensure that people with any impairment are respected and valued for the contribution that they make to the game.
To find out more about this vision and what ECB is doing to deliver across various areas of activity, please download the Disability Cricket Vision document as a PDF below:
ECB Disability Cricket Vision 2009 2013 (288 KB)
If you require assistance accessing that file, please email
Contacts
If you have any questions about disability cricket, want to get involved, or find participation opportunities near you- email the ECB team or regularly search our events pages.
