Rule change not an issue, says Warner

David Warner is confident the upcoming bat-size restrictions set by the Marylebone Cricket Club will not have an adverse effect on run scoring.

In fact, Warner says the law change may actually help, not hinder, batsmen.

The MCC announced on Tuesday from October 2017 the thickness of professional cricket bats will be restricted to a maximum of 108mm in width, 67mm in depth and 40mm edges.

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Warner's current T20 bat, the beefiest in his armoury, has a maximum depth of 85mm according to The Australian, a full 18mm more than the new laws permit.

But Warner isn't concerned by the looming changes that are set to affect a host of batsmen around the world.

"We're just going to have to adapt to the changes," Warner said on Saturday. "The ball will still go the same distance, still go to the fence, we'll still get our ones and twos.

"The odd nick might not carry this time."

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While the law changes, which are designed to "redress the balance between bat and ball", are still seven months away, Warner has already been in contact with his bat manufacturer, Gray-Nicolls.

Warner and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson, who is also contracted to Gray-Nicolls, visited the warehouse in Melbourne late last year to look at new designs and also test older versions to see whether they would be legal under the new permitted dimensions.

"We put a whole range of bats from when I first started and when others started," Warner said.

"I'm not sure if they were the correct measurements but they weren't going through the measurement (gauge) that they're doing.

"They (bat manufacturers) have to govern that as well.

"We have to use whatever the bat-maker brings us."

Australia captain Steve Smith is another player whose bats will be impacted by the new laws, which is why he spent his days off after the second Test against India in Bengaluru in the far north of the subcontinent addressing the same issues Warner faces with his own bat manufacturer.

Smith's first Test captain, Ricky Ponting, is on the MCC panel that made the law change and says feedback from key stakeholders in cricket convinced the game's law makers to go ahead with the new rules.

"We consulted manufactures and players; 60 or 70 per cent of the players felt the bats had got too big which made the decision easier," Ponting told RadioLIVE's Saturday Sport in New Zealand.

"We asked all the bat companies for their thoughts and opinions on it all, and they felt they could make high-quality bats perform well under those limitations.

"The overall feeling across the panel is that the balance has gone a little too far in favour of the batsmen.

"We have 12 or 14 guys on the panel who talk long and hard about trying to find the balance between bat and ball in the game across all three formats."

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Former Black Caps international Scott Styris tweeted his disapproval of the bat changes, saying the "inmates have taken over the asylum".

But Ponting strongly disagreed with Styris's "ridiculous accusation".

"I'm not sure if Scott really thought much about what he has had to say," Ponting said. "If he hasn't it is a ridiculous accusation to come out and say.

"We are seeing batsmen now hitting sixes on some of the biggest cricket grounds in the world where the ball hits nowhere near the middle of the bat.

"Let's just see how it goes."

Test Squads

India (for third and fourth Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 23-27, First Test, Pune - Australia won by 333 runs.

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru - India won by 75 runs.

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala