Cricket: Getting a grip can hit bad play for six

Rotorua's Dave Richardson has invented a grip to help cricketers, including Black Cap Dan Vettori, play with a straight bat. Photo / Stephen Parker

A Rotorua cricket coach and his son have invented a new batting grip which will be used by Black Cap Daniel Vettori.

Rotorua's Dave Richardson and son David Richardson came up with the idea for the grip about four years ago.

They have since been developing the idea into a final product - which went on sale on Sunday.

The Pure grip for adults and Rock grip for children have moulds on them to position the hands in the correct manner.

Richardson has been coaching cricket for 23 years and hopes the new grip will influence future players.

"Something I would get really excited about would be if I was driving around and saw dads out there with their little boy playing cricket and they had a really good grip."

Richardson said that about four years ago he challenged his son to come up with an idea that would help them with junior cricket coaching.

"He spent a couple of days just sort of thinking and he came up with some of the stupidest ideas ever ... then he came and said, 'hey dad, the hardest thing we have to try and do is get children to hold the bat the right way'."

From there they started working on a grip, going through about four prototypes.

"We worked out most of the people that were good at cricket either had a dad or a coach that had helped them get the correct grip at an early age."

Richardson said it took a long time to come up with the final product but he was now coaching with the new grips.

He had since received plenty of good feedback from local players, and even international cricketers such as Vettori and former test batsmen Scott Styris and Rob Hart (whom he used to coach).

The grips went on sale online for the first time on Sunday, on www.2mmsports.com.

Richardson, his son and Hart have all partnered in the business, 2mm Sports, which sell the grips.

Richardson said Vettori had come on board to endorse the grip and would use it in some matches.

"To get cricket coaches to accept it you need good players to use it," Richardson said.

Vettori, who has played 112 test matches and 277 ODIs for New Zealand, said it was a great invention.

"If something like that was around when I was a little bit younger, like the 2mm Rock, I think it would have made a huge difference to my game," he said.

"The things that I have really enjoyed about it is it has allowed my hands to go into a really natural position and enable me to play as straight as possible. And I think when I was growing up those were the things that I had a lot of difficulty with."

He said even now, late in his career, it allowed him to play the ball a bit later and straighter.

Local cricket coach Glenn Rumble, who takes the Lakelands primary school team, said about five of his young players were using the new grip.

"It has helped heaps, especially with playing straight and keeping your elbow up. It's great for the kids, they all go from playing a sideways bat to an instant straight bat with the face showing and the hands in the right place."

The grips sell for $75 each and they can be bought on www.2mmsports.com. They are only available online.