An unexpected aspect of cricket’s growing appeal

One of the most evocative sounds associated with cricket is the sound of ball on bat or, more precisely, that of leather on willow. Quite when willow came to be chosen as the most suitable wood is not clear.

Previous columns have traced the evolution of the cricket bat from one resembling a hockey stick to one with specific length and width dimensions.

These are specified in Law 5 of the Laws of Cricket as “not more than 38 in/96.52 cm in length, whilst the blade shall not exceed a width of 4.25 in/10.8 cm, a depth of 2.64 in/6.7 cm and edges of 1.56 in/4.0 cm.” The law also specifies that “the blade shall consist solely of wood.”

Willow is a wood which is light but strong, capable of absorbing the shock of a cricket ball’s force, without shattering. There are some 400 varieties of willow but only Salix alba var Caerulea, a deciduous tree, is fit for the purpose of cricket-bat blade production.

It is straight stemmed, growing up to 25 meters high, with an ability to hold a higher moisture content than other woods. This means it is fast-growing, maturing in 12 to 20 years. Trees are ready for harvesting when their circumference measures 147.5 centimeters at a height of 142.3 centimeters from the ground, ideally with a clean trunk of 213.5 centimeters.

The trees require well-draining, loamy soils and thrive in temperate climates with a healthy amount of direct sunlight. This helps develop a “diffuse porous” cell structure inimical to the creation of top-grade willow for cricket bats.

Trees need to be close to water and are often found on low-lying, wet, heavy soils which, otherwise, may be underproductive. They can also play a role in riverbank restoration and soil stabilization.

It is thought that the variety was