Twenty20 / Ralph Ellis / 07 October 2009 /

Innovations in cricket aren't just about shorter formats, new tactics and innovative shots. Ralph Ellis tells us about the introduction of the Mongoose bat which allows players like Sussex's Dwayne Smith to hit the ball further and harder than ever before.

It's all to do with the equipment. The top golfers hit the ball too long and make a mockery of some of the world's toughest golf courses. The tennis players serve it too hard, and reduce Wimbledon matches to a shoot-out. And the new Nike football that's swerving around the Premier League is making life a nightmare for goalkeepers.

In every sport the manufacturers are always searching for ways to take the rules that govern equipment and push them to the edge. And while that sometimes disrupts the beauty of watching the professionals, it's a huge boon for the amateurs who buy it all. The super duper driver that helps Tiger Woods hit the ball nearly 400 yards means you and me can suddenly reach 200. And the graphite tennis racket gives us enough power to actually get the ball over the net!

Into that arena has come the Mongoose cricket bat, designed, much like the jumbo golf clubs, to help hit the ball harder, faster and further. I'm not sure it would have ever helped me. My cricket days were spent as a very dour opening bat who could defend fast bowlers for ever but never score any runs! And I'm not sure it would have been a lot of use for Sussex coach Mark Robinson, either. He finished his own career with a batting average of four!

But in the hands of the county's Barbados all-rounder Dwayne Smith it's already proved a powerful weapon, and it could just be about to gain a few more headlines as England's Twenty20 champions take their place in the inaugural Champions League. Smith was using the bat when he crashed 59 off 26 balls at Edbaston to win the English version and was key to the county's phenomenally successful summer in One Day cricket.

They might have got relegated from Division One in the four-day version of the game, but when it comes to the quickfire stuff Sussex were close to a unique treble - finishing runners up in the Friends Provident Trophy their only disappointment as they came top of the Pro40 League as well as their Twenty20 success.

It's a pedigree which means they are decent value at [13.0] to add the biggest prize of the lot to the summer's haul. Robinson - professional cricket manager to give him his proper title - has been one of the leading thinkers about one-day cricket since he hung up his boots as a journeyman fast bowler to go into coaching. Most of all he recognised that even the short form of the game is not just about slogging - you need proper batsmen who can handle the pace of a Brett Lee or the beguiling spin of a Muthiah Muralitharan.

Sussex start their campaign on Sunday morning with a tough opener against New South Wales which will give an indication of how far they can go. NSW are one of the three favourites at [7.0] together with IPL superpowers the Deccan Chargers [7.4] and Delhi Daredevils [6.8]. But in a tournament that has two qualifying from a group of three in the first instance, and then two from four to reach the semi-finals, there's plenty of chance to grow into it. Especially if Smith, who is [6.0] to be top Sussex batsman, gets going with that Mongoose.

Five things you might not know about Mark Robinson

1.Born in Hull in 1966, he was a decent fast medium bowler who started his career with Northants and took four wickets on his first class debut

2.He eclipsed that start by setting a world record - trouble was it was for the longest sequence without scoring a run! He got 12 noughts in a row, although defends himself because seven of them were not out!

3. After a year out of the game he joined Yorkshire - and took 50 wickets in a season with three five-fors. By this time he was blossoming into an all-rounder (okay, well he finally made double figures in one innings!)

4. He moved to Sussex in 1997 and spent five years as a player before being offered a role on the coaching staff under Peter Moores

5. Credited with being the brains behind the county's success in the early days of Twenty20, he was promoted to "professional cricket manager" when Moores left to work with England.

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