EX-ENGLISH CRICKETER, ROLAND BUTCHER, LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY NEW CRICKET BAT AIMED AT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING BATTING PERFORMANCES

The long-awaited Roland Butcher Cricket Training Bats were launched at the famous Lord’s Cricket

Ground in London recently. The bats have been specially designed to tackle a technical problem that

plagued the ex-English cricketer throughout his 20-year professional career.

“Throughout my career I had a technical problem with the balls that came into the right-handed

batsman, and I had great difficulty in correcting this problem throughout my career,” explained

Butcher. “Once I had retired this continued to weigh heavily on my mind and I started investigating

different ways to solve the problem. This problem was solved by designing a bat that corrected this

technical flaw. I firmly believe that my new training bat will help all current and future cricketers

develop the batting skills and techniques required to be successful in their elite careers.”

Butcher was the first black cricketer to be selected to play for England and had an illustrious career,

which included playing for Middlesex County Cricket Club.

The first bat he designed was aimed at mastering the in-swinging and off spin deliveries that right-

handed batsmen typically face. Once he was completely satisfied with the design, size, weight and

balance he then sent it for rigorous scientific testing, which produced exceptional results.

But his research did not stop there. It then occurred to him that the oppose must also be true for

players who have difficulty playing the ball that moves or spins away from the right-handed

batsman. The second bat was designed to master the away swing and leg spin deliveries.

“In relation to the first two bats that were designed for the right-handed batsman, there are

equivalent bats reversed for the left-handed batsman,” said Butcher.

The third and final training bat in his series is designed for mastering the playing of spin, fast bowling

and concentration. 

“Whilst designing my bats I was a High-Performance Coach with the International Cricket Council

(ICC) under ICC High Performance Head Coach Bob Woolmer, the former England player and South

Africa and Pakistan Head Coach. Bob advised me to have the bats scientifically tested”, explains

Butcher.

And in 2002, Butcher registered the three bat inventions with the patent office, and they were sent

to Loughborough University for testing. Loughborough University is one of the most advanced

Universities in the world of Science and Technology in Sport. The scientific study and testing were

conducted by the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering at the

same University.

The process took two years to complete, and in 2004 Butcher was handed a complete and

comprehensive thesis. “The thesis from Loughborough University confirmed scientifically that all the

bats worked and produced the exact results I was anticipating. Not only that, but it proved that the

batter’s performance was significantly improved!”

The results also confirmed that the training bats improved the accuracy of the bowlers significantly.

“This result was a pleasant surprise as I had designed the bats exclusively for batting,” concluded

Butcher.

The bats are now being manufactured by Stone Hill and distributed by B3Cricket http://www.b3cricket.com

FOR MEDIA HERE IS THE INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:

The difference in the three bats:

1. Assists batsmen with mastering the Out-swing.

2. Assists batsmen with mastering the In-Swing.

3. Assists batsmen with mastering Spin.

The VIPS that attended the launch were:

 Ricky Skerritt President of Cricket West Indies

 Angus Fraser Ex England and Middlesex player. Currently Director of Development for

Middlesex

 Mark Ramprakash Ex England and Middlesex player. Current batting consultant for

Middlesex

 Jamie Cox Assistant Secretary Cricket MCC.

 Ricky Elcock Ex Middlesex and England player

 Sam Robson Middlesex and England player

Captions for Images:

1. Ex-England and Middlesex players Roland Butcher and Mark Ramprakash with the new training

bats.

2. Ex-England and Middlesex player and current Director of Development for Middlesex, Angus

Fraser, Ex-England Cricket player and Current batting consultant for Middlesex Mark

Ramprakash with Ex-England and Middlesex player Roland Butcher and current England and

Middlesex player Sam Robson

3. Manufacturer Sibi Sheikh from Stone Hill, Ricky Skerrit the President of the West Indian Cricket

Board, Ex-England and Middlesex player Roland Butcher and distributor Michael Blatherwick

from B3Cricket.

4. The three cricket bats