IT WAS tough to choose which cricket bat would be first to go under the Starsport microscope.
The answer? Something that looks nothing like one, of course.
It's been described as "half a brick on a stick". To us, it looks more like an oar. But if it's good enough for Marcus Trescothick and Matthew Hayden, it's good enough for us. After all, those two have scored a few international runs between them. More than 25,000, to be precise.
We bring you the Mongoose. And yes, it's not April Fools Day. This actually IS a cricket bat.
The MMi3 has become one of the most recognisable bats in the world. It may feel like a golf club but the physics, according to Mongoose, are simple. They've increased the length of the handle for greater leverage and for more impact speed when contact is made with the ball.
Out has gone the splice, in have come over-sized edges and toes. Put simply, you've got a handle - and a middle.
Let's put one thing straight.
You're not going to see this beast in a Test match anytime soon. It'd be like going into war with a bow and arrow and no armour. You'd get killed, pretty sharpish.
A big chunk of your splice is missing. The big chunk that, when you're playing a backfoot defence to Mitchell Johnson or Dale Steyn, will save you from getting a cracked rib.
But therein lies the beauty. This is a Twenty20 innovation and no-one is proclaiming it to be anything different.
Stuart Law, one of the first users of the MMi3, makes a valid argument. "It's an attacking bat, why would you want to defend?" he tells us. Fair point.
The first impression, once you've worked out how to hold the thing, is a good one. Suddenly you feel like Kevin Pietersen, Viv Richards and Shahid Afridi rolled into one. Hit it in the middle and it goes... like a rocket.
From scratching around to having all the confidence in the world, in one wild swoop of an oversized-handled bat. Anything full is a dream to boom back at the bowler.
The MMi3 flies, even off that big old edge.
But that is one of the problems. The edge is sometimes TOO big. Too often for our liking we're getting leading edges - but let's put that down to user deficiencies.
The trick, we quickly work out, is to play NORMAL cricket shots. The difficulty is it's no normal bat.
With time and a few generous net bowlers pitching it up, it quickly becomes easier.
The MMi3 idea is borderline genius. Put in the right hands and this can be deadly - but the tendency is to overhit. Play standard cricket shots and you're sorted. Wild hacks and you'll be trudging off quicker than a Brett Lee yorker.
To use this beauty you have to have balls. You will fail, you will spoon one in the air and you will get stick. Let's face it, you can't walk out with something that looks like this and expect to get away with it.
The gamble is worth it. The MMi3 has the potential to come off spectacularly. For a club cricketer, it's expensive for the gimmick that it effectively is - but weigh up the potential. The fours you are hitting can become sixes and the lobs to mid-off will soon be flying over his head.
It's decent on slow, low and damp English club pitches too. The MMi3 allows you to get under the ball with power.
The question is whether you have the minerals to take it out with you. Are you brave enough to let loose the 'Goose?
VERDICT: Wonderfully innovative - be prepared for all your team-mates wanting a go. Brilliant design which works - once you've taken the time to get the hang of it. Try it in friendlies before you take it out in the league. It takes time to get used to.
We tested the MMi3 Premium, which retails at £260 fromwww.mongoosecricket.com
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