Yeah, glad that debacle has finished

How is it possible to make balls any lighter? And what would be an advantage for anbody? Generally when people talk about 'good' and 'better' things it is 'good' and 'better' for a batsman and not the bowler. So lets get back to tradition with wood and rubber bats and cork and leather balls. Nothing more nothing less

i'm all for technology! i dont mind the advanced materials in the protection area's Helmets, pads, gloves etc but not in the most basic form of the game!

Bat = Willow
Ball = Leather

simple as!

Oh yeah, I don't want to go back to the rubber batting gloves which didn't actually work when it somes to protection.
I wonder how this will affect world wide batting. Porbably not a lot but maybe it will...

That is a fair point but what and how would it effect the game as a whole?  A harder ball may mean that the spinners are taken out of a game for example.   For every 'progression' it seems that someone loses out, somewhere.   

I'm all for progress as long as it benefits the game, though bat shapes etc have changed over the years the basic methods are still the same, if it ain't broke then don't fix it.

I dont like when people say that we should stick with tradition. Are we still in the stone age? As technology progresses we should progress too. Why should cricket be an exception?

Poor decision lacking any kind of foresight. I agree with no man made materials or carbon handles. However what happens when cane runs out as it is not an infinite resource? Also not very environmentally friendly shipping those handles from Malaysia.

Very very few professionals used these carbon handles anyway so it won't make any difference to the games we see on TV.

For what its worth I agree with the descision. Although I imagine it won`t take long for the big bat manufacturers to come up with the "next big thing" and get someone like McCulloch to advertise how it can improve your batting. I am getting far too cynical for my tender age!!!

But why change for the sake of change?

As I have already said, I'm more than happy for the game to evolve, but not if it's just because it can.  Let's have a reason to make the changes.

yup, gotta have a reason to evolve!

If suddenly you had mas produced Carbon blade etc that could hit a ball an extra 30 meters it would virtually turn the gmae into a batsmens game! we would need bigger fields! Hell why not reduce the boundary scoring system while your there! say 2 for a boundary and 4 for a 6!

The research doesnt prove that carbon handles have any effect on the power of the shot. It just makes the bat more durable I think. Changing the boundary scoring system wont be technological progress.
Dont tell me that Cricket doesnt need any technological progress. There are lots of things that could be made better about cricket with the use of more technology.

it just needs to be for the better of the game not because the technology is there!

When did I say it just needs to be there because the world is making technological progress? The whole reason behind technology is to make things better. There are destructive uses of technology too but we arent concerned with that there.

If you can use modern technology to make something easier to produce or to have a lesser impact on the environment then great, go for it, but don't change things just for the sake of change.

Why produce a ball that will go 60 metres further, will this really enhance the game?  A bat that hits the ball twice as hard, hardly adds to the game unless you're the one batting.

The battle between bat and ball is one that is finely balanced (probably in favour of the bat at the moment) and it doesn't really need tampering with.  Look at what happens when they attempt to change the rules to 'aid' the game, it just takes something away.

The only thing they really need to do at the moment is to produce a one day ball that lasts for 50 overs. 

if it ain't broke dont fix it... bats are where they should be right now. Which is at an equal level of 'technological advancement' to the ball. Cricket is the great game it is because of the simplicity, but intricacies that result from our red leather ball and willow bats =P

Bat should be wood End off!