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Cricket has been played with English willow bats for two centuries [Getty Images]
For roughly two hundred years, cricketers across the world have almost exclusively walked out to the crease and taken their guard with bats made of the finest English willow - but that is now set to change.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) announced last week that the laws of the game would allow the use of laminated bats in open age recreational cricket from October.
Lamination is typically where the English willow face is backed by cheaper and lesser-performing willow, such as that from Kashmir.
One of the world's largest suppliers of English willow is based in Banbury, and its director Jonny Clarke welcomed the change, saying it could make the sport more affordable for amateurs.
"Nothing beats a beautiful English Willow cricket bat," he told the BBC.
"But I think this change really could open the doors and give much more accessibility to keen young cricketers as a lower cost alternative."
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Laminated blades will now be used in recreational level cricket [Getty Images]
Clarke's company, which is simply called English Willow, plants trees on under-used farmland across the country - which they then purchase back from landowners when the wood is ready to harvest.
"We're the only country in the world that grows it to the standard it is because we've got the climate and the soils," he explained.
"But [the sport] is exploding - there's more and more people in the world and there's millions of people every year wanting to play more and more cricket."
Announcing the law change last week, MCC laws manager Fraser Stewart said it had been introduced to combat the rising price of bats, and would not be implemented for the top level of the game.
"We felt if anything can be done for the lower levels of the sport that will help make it more affordable without changing the dynamics of the game then it's a sensible move to make," Stewart told BBC Sport.
"There's not really enough willow to go round," he added.
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Bats at all adult levels of cricket could previously only be made of English willow [Getty Images]
Bat prices are thought to have trebled following increased demand from countries in South Asia, with some top-end models costing close to £1,000.
Clarke said his company was "quite aligned" with the MCC regarding the law change.
"We want to look at this industry and look at new ideas and how we can advance it and how we can open it up to other people who want to play," he said.
"Cricket is expensive, and this gives the chance for a cheaper option to come through on to the market," he added.
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