Chris Gayle Smashes ICC's Crackdown on Bat Sizes, Says: A Big Boy Needs a Big Bat

West Indies cricket star, Chris Gayle, has strongly opposed the International Cricket Council's proposed crackdown on bat sizes, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

On Thursday, the big-hitting Jamaican said, "A big boy needs a big bat, people keep saying it has become a batsman's game, but bowlers are becoming more skillful too." (World Cup 2015: Full Coverage)

The Royal Challengers Bangalore superstar found support in recently-retired Australian pacer Brett Lee who thought bats with bigger edges have  made the game more exciting.

"I think that if players like Gayle and (David) Warner are strong enough to lift a bat that heavy, at that speed, then good for them, it makes the game a hell of a lot more exciting", remarked the Australian pace-man.

However, former Australia ODI legend Michael Bevan has a different view.

"Bats have improved at a far greater rate than balls, there has to be an even balance if it becomes too lopsided and becomes a six-fest then no one wants to watch that either."

He also agreed with the views of the ICC CEO, Dave Richardson, that the game's balance has tilted a bit more towards the men with the willow. (Michael Hussey to Help South Africa During World Cup)

Another former Aussie player, Dean Jones has blamed the bowlers for lacking the required skills to curb the flow of runs in an ODI game.

"The bowlers' defensive game has fallen away, they get smashed because they can't bowl yorkers properly anymore," Jones said.  

He also expressed his concern about "rage hitting", the new form of training that has become popular since the inception of the T20s.

"Twenty20 cricket has also brought in a whole new form of training, 'Rage-hitting' involves a batsman dropping their defensive game completely and thrashing at balls inside the net repetitively and at high speeds. I remember when my coach would tear my ear off for hitting a single ball over the net."

There may be a split view over the bat size issue but one thing that has found unanimous concern among the fraternity has been the size of the boundaries.

"They have got to stop bringing in the boundary rope," said Lee, who spoke to Fairfax Media while playing in a charity event. "People want a tight, fast contest, but that's a hard ask with only 60 metres."

Bevan too, added his bit saying, "Too many poor shots get rewarded with a six at that length."

Richardson has been extremely vocal about the "boundary rope" issue and has already said that the boundary would be pushed back to at least 90 metres "where possible" at the World Cup.