mongoose mmi3

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abhiscenter

abhiscenter

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mongoose mmi3

Hello ppl,
I'm planning to order a mongoose cricket bat. As it is an expensive piece of willow, I wanted to do some research and get everyone's opinion on it. So can you guys highlight the pros and cons of it, and maybe describe the stroke and "feel" of the bat.
Thank you and I appreciate it,
A.V
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

I've only used one briefly but my thoughts were as follows:

It feels different - a lot more handle to play with
Pick up felt strange but with use it should feel more natural
I guess it felt a bit like a 'club'
When middled, the ball really flew off the bat
I felt a little exposed to balls that bounced more than usual - not as much blade to play with

Overall, it does what it claims to but you need a lot of time with it. I'd say a good month of regular netting would be needed but that could just be me.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Hey Mas, thank you for your reply. i also believe that to get the feel of the bat i would need to practice alot. i bat lower middle order n because of that i go in either "score as much as possible situation" or in "save our butts situation. " I do have a good regular bat but it doesn't help me hit big unless I connect from the middle of the bat. And that's where mongoose has advantage because the manufacturers claim the whole blade is striking area. So may be with good amount of net time can bring aggressive best of me. Plus I won't mind all the attention this bat will bring. ;)
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

abhiscenter;405514 said:
Hey Mas, thank you for your reply. i also believe that to get the feel of the bat i would need to practice alot. i bat lower middle order n because of that i go in either "score as much as possible situation" or in "save our butts situation. " I do have a good regular bat but it doesn't help me hit big unless I connect from the middle of the bat. And that's where mongoose has advantage because the manufacturers claim the whole blade is striking area. So may be with good amount of net time can bring aggressive best of me. Plus I won't mind all the attention this bat will bring. ;)
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Remember that it is as much about good technique and timing as it is about having a big lump of wood. Whilst the Mongoose will help you on the lump of wood front, it's not going to automatically make you a great player - that takes practice.

The downside to the Mongoose is that itmay (or may not) encourage bad habits. That is something that will be revealed with time but I would encourage all users to play their natural game and not go into 'slog mode'. For the past two weeks I've been able to pick the run rate up to over 6 an over simply by running well between the wickets - big hitting is not the be all and end all when trying to up the rate.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

abhiscenter;405514 said:
i bat lower middle order n because of that i go in either "score as much as possible situation" or in "save our butts situation. " I do have a good regular bat but it doesn't help me hit big unless I connect from the middle of the bat. And that's where mongoose has advantage because the manufacturers claim the whole blade is striking area.
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if thats the case then surely your technique needs to improve, and it has little to do with the bat?

you dont see Chris Gayle or Kevin Pietersen struggling to clear huge boundaries using regular cricket bats. and in case you reference the fact that they are very big strong guys, how about Sachin Tendulkar or Paul Collingwood.

as you have said, unless you connect from the middle of the bat you cant hit big. but that will be the same with the Mongoose. youve got a bit more striking area, but the edges will still act like edges (due to the nature of the handle it will always twist in the hands if the ball strikes an edge, so the ball still wont fly straight), so you still need to middle it. and youve got less blade to work with, so you cant score runs as easily off of balls that bounce a bit more, and anything across the line of the ball becomes critical on timing (less blade to compensate for mistimed shots).

im not an expert, but id think you would be far better off with a T20 bat than a Mongoose. something like a Funky Slug T20 Funky Slug T20 Cricket Bat > Next Day Delivery Available which has 1.5" less blade, but has a lot of meat in the driving area. then just work on practising your shots. none of the big hitting pros started out by hitting big shots. they are all capable of playing very correct orthodox shots with perfect technique, which then makes the big shots easier when the opportunity presents itself. just going in swinging as an amateur is rarely likely to score more runs on a consistent basis than a player that goes in and builds an innings, with singles where possible off of good balls, and then punishes the bad balls (which every bowler at club level produces at some point in a spell). if you go in with only a few overs left then it makes no sense to do anything but swing if runs are needed, but thats different.

theres an Indian guy that plays for my club who hits some monster shots from the outset. but the key to his style of play is that he only goes after bad balls. if its a good delivery then he defends or pushes the ball around for singles. but he can still score 60 runs in 30 balls and transform an innings. and does so on a regular basis. the last 4 times ive played with him hes hit 50+ runs and always at >100% strike rate. and thats using a Kashmir willow bat!
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Hey Jim, I just want to clear the fact that when I say "regular bat but it doesn't help me hit big unless I connect from the middle of the bat" i meant that it doesnt have meat at all and so i want a bat which will give more power behind the shot. I understand that preoper technique is needed to score long innings but most of the time I bat when its 3 or less overs left. I usually try not to slog unless needed and i am more of a batsman who rotates the strike. But I want to make sure that when i hit, It stays hit. The reason i was comparing my original bat to mongoose was because mongoose has no "dead Spot" in the bat whereas my original bat only has 4 or may be max of 6'' of hitting area. If i connect from the toe of the original bat then it is not going to reach even 30 yard circles, whereas mongoose has a thick toe which will help play yorkers better.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

I had a bit of a whirl with the Moongoose a little while ago, and had mixed feelings.

I'm predominantely a back-foot player, anything slightly short always goes for runs, lots of cuts and pulls. I also have a bit of a baseball down the ground type shot that I use quite effectively when they start packing the covers and behind square, so pretty much I can score anywhere off the back foot. I get in trouble, however, playing off the front foot and get bogged down when the bowling is continually full.

I didn't like the Mongoose because of my style. If you play back-footed as well, I wouldn't get it. When you start playing late cuts and such it gets quite unweildy, and still feels like a club, so you are swatting at it unable to full control it. The extra long handle, however, does allow you to grip down the bat and/or seperate your hands a long way to shorten the lever and you can play some very accurate cuts and such. This, however, really does require premeditation, there's no way you could readjust your grip in the fraction of a second you get to play a shot.

Off the front foot it is marvellous though. The straight drive and a half-hearted cover drive are my only two front foot shots really, and when I got the bowlers in the nets to put them where I wanted them I could play some quite monsterous shots with ease. The straight drive in particular I think becomes easier due to the weight at the end almost dragging you through the shot.

So if you are a front foot player with good reaction speeds (I find I'm late on the ball more due to the weird weight distribution) and are ready to spend some hours practicing with it, then I'd say go for it. Just be aware that with it I think it is very easy to get a batsman in trouble as a bowler (especially spin bowling) by bowling to plans that exploit its weaknesses.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Hey Boris, I am weak on the back foot and cut shots and my main shots are front foot drives. So according to what you mentioned, I guess I wont be in much of a trouble there. But What about pull and hook shots? can you play them easily? and also do you have any videos of mongoose in action? I dont see many on the internet :(
and also how should i knock it in? like a regular cricket bat?
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

abhiscenter;405851 said:
Hey Boris, I am weak on the back foot and cut shots and my main shots are front foot drives. So according to what you mentioned, I guess I wont be in much of a trouble there. But What about pull and hook shots? can you play them easily? and also do you have any videos of mongoose in action? I dont see many on the internet :(
and also how should i knock it in? like a regular cricket bat?
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Someone from our club bought one (he's used it twice in matches since but didn't really like it, but then again he never practices with it either). At the nets we've all had a couple of goes and it does seem to suit those front foot players.

It plays a lot like a heavy baseball bat and I found that it encouraged me to play across the line, so you have to make sure your technique is solid to start with or you will end up going from bad to worse.

Pulls and hooks are strong shots of mine and I was able to pull them off with great power but the accuracy wasn't there. I found my pulls weren't targeting a specific area, but instead the entire leg side. It would get much better with practice, though. I am wary of playing them because there is very little room for error. With a normal bat you can still get it off the top of the blade if you are late on it (which is common with a pull), but with the Mongoose there's little room between it spearing into your hands/face/ribs and connecting.

Another problem is the top edge. If you top edge the pull shot it will either go for six over the keeper's head or gift literally anybody on the field with an fairly simple catch. The problem with having a lump of wood like that is that everything carries to the fielders if you time it slightly wrong. I have a bit of trouble keeping my cover drive on the ground and in a couple of sessions I've had with it I don't think I've hit one on the ground.

I don't have any videos right now, but I may be able to get one of us in action with it if it's possible... but no promises sorry.

You should see if there is somebody at all you can borrow one off. Personally I don't like it much at all, but I know a couple who do so it really comes down to what you like. The price tag is quite hefty so if I were you I'd be looking at finding somewhere to try it out beforehand, returning bats doesn't always go down well.

For a late middle order batsman in a one day match it's a pretty good idea IMO if you are confident on the front foot, but you are going to have to practice a lot to get used to it.

As for knocking it in I'd presume it would be like normal, but I'm not the best with that. Mas would know what's what there.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Thanks for quick reply, I have plenty of time to practice because I rarely get to bat in my team. It's packed with some top division players and dome international/national level players. So mostly I bat in the nets and work on improving my batting technique. I can't really try the mongoose because I live in usa n ppl don't have mongoose bats here. Its gonna cost me a good 300 dollars including shipping but I am getting it as a birthday gift by parents so hopefully it turns out to be a good 1.
Thanks
AV
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Well I hope all is well with it.

What I would suggest is practicing with both for a while, and even if you don't like the Mongoose, keep practicing with it and keep it for those times when you come in with 5 overs to go and you have a healthy total already. That way you can just go out there swinging, and with a club like that if you hit it, they definitely stay hit.

So in a way you could use it as a tool for a bit of slogging if you so think it suits you in that way. That way it also gets you into the frame of mind that your usual bat is for 'proper' batting and you keep your technique sound.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

That's a good suggestion Boris, I am just gonna bat in practice just the way I usually bat and just get used to it. The concern I have is that here I play 40 overs usually and so I was wondering if mongoose can be used for this version as in can I bat with it playing positive/proper cricket shots N not plain slogging every delivery?
Thanks
A.V
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

Yes, you can do that.

They've tried their hardest to get it weighted to feel like a 'proper' bat, but there's only so much you can do to counter the club on the end of a stick. So when you swing at something, you have to be fully dedicated to it. If you are one to poke at things then I wouldn't suggest it, there's no pulling out afterwards.

As I said front foot is much easier than backfoot and as long as you can pick up the length quickly, you can play technically correct shots. Reflexes I think is what it comes down to in the end, if you can pick it up earlier than the club can be swinging through that point at the right time instead of late.

Ah yes one thing I forgot to mention. Not sure if others have experienced this or whether it is a one off, one bat sort of thing. Because the handle and blade are built as one unit, no splice (which means more middle), it seems to jar more. When you middle a ball with a standard cricket bat you can barely feel it, slight vibration and maybe the bat turns a tiny bit, but the crisper you hit it the less you feel it. The Mongoose I found didn't do that, wherever you hit it, middle or not, it would jar a bit and most of the time twist in your hand. It's not a major issue, just a bit of an annoyance, because the ball still flies just as far.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

so what you are saying is that you cant use mongoose for just punching and guiding the ball? and 2nd thing is that I thought the handle was connected to the splice in handle area. but you may be right as well. Do you have or will you take some pictures or videos of mongoose in action? i cant wait till I get mine. Its in transit and will be delivered on the 26th! (Fingers Crossed)
A.V
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

I haven't actually looked at the handle properly, will do next time, but it's done in a way that doesn't affect the actual face of the bat. We all know what happens if a ball hits the top part of the blade on a normal bat, just dies (most of the time you actually want it to do that though, just fall to the ground out of harms way) The Mongoose, being such a short blade and wanting to be completely sweet spot, doesn't have this, if you hit it high on the bat it's as if you never misjudged it. This, though, does seem to increase jarring and vibration.

Might be just a one-off thing with this bat, it's not as if I've spent hours and hours with it and written a long review on it.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

I just received the bat and those Dumbasses sent me cor3 whereas I ordered mmi3 :-[,
Now I gotta wait another week to get the bat. Damn it.
 
Re: mongoose mmi3

abhiscenter;406855 said:
I just received the bat and those Dumbasses sent me cor3 whereas I ordered mmi3 :-[,
Now I gotta wait another week to get the bat. Damn it.
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Dang it.

Did you happen to have a sneaky road test of the Cor3? Or did you do the sensible thing and package it back up and send it back straight away? :D
 
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