A controversy erupted in 1979 after an Australian fast bowler walked to the crease carrying an aluminium bat during a Test match against England at Perth. It was on December 15, 1979, when the legendary fast bowler Dennis Lillee made headlines due to his unique bat. It was manufactured by a company owned by his friend.
Back then, there were no rules against using such a bat. However, trouble began when Lillee hit a ball that went for three runs. Australian captain Greg Chappell thought that the ball should have gone for a four, and instructed Rodney Hogg to deliver a conventional wooden bat to Lillee.
In the meantime, English captain Mike Brearley complained to the umpires that using such a bat was against the spirit of the game and that it was damaging the ball. But Lillee refused to change the bat.
Even Brearley, Lillee and the umpires discussed it for almost 10 minutes. Subsequently, Chappell insisted that Lillee should change bats. Lillee threw it 40 yards towards the pavilion and grudgingly took the wooden bat. After the game, sales of the bat skyrocketed for a few months. But later, the laws of the game were amended, specifying that bats had to be made from wood.
The aluminium bat was the brainchild of Graham Monaghan, a former club cricketer and a close friend of Lillee. The Australian cricketer, Lillee, was Monoghan’s business partner. Later, he admitted in his autobiography, Menace, that the gimmick was purely a marketing exercise.
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