The promoters of the bat with the alluring contours can claim an extraordinary history. Last summer, Joe Sillett found a 10-year-old bat in the back of his garage. At one time, this Hunts County model had been his favourite but, ravaged by time, it was now in a pretty sorry state with woodworm eating into the upper areas.

His father, Bob, noticed that most of the blade was still serviceable and got to work with a Black and Decker mouse to sand away the part that was riddled with woodworm. To balance it up, he took some off the other side and Joe rather liked the look of the end result. He tried it and scored 142 not out.

He realised that the Sillett family could be on to something. At the time it was just a guess but scientific research has since proved that the bits cut away - high up on the edges of the blade - were the parts of a bat used least. Therefore, the new design allowed for a redistribution of weight to other, more useful, areas.

He took the idea to three major manufacturers and each one of them wanted to buy the concept and pay a royalty. Joe was not interested in that as he wanted to start his own distribution organisation. He chose Hunts County Bats (unwittingly makers of the prototype) on the grounds of their quality of craftsmanship, and is now actively promoting his own brand Woodworm. The Wand is the full-size model and the Wizard is for juniors.

Not content with simply developing a new bat shape, Joe Sillett has been in touch with the England and Wales Cricket Board about a new sponsorship deal committed to supporting school and junior club cricket. He wants to set up a cricket development fund for investment in junior cricket projects and is prepared to pledge a percentage of company profits to the cause.

There have been a number of innovations in bat shapes over the years. Sloping shoulders, double-sided, scoops, hollows - you name it and it has probably been tried. One manufacturer even tried drilling holes through the blade, so it offered less air resistance and could therefore be swung faster. Unfortunately, it offered less resistance to everything, and was liable to break on repeated firm contact with the ball!

Now it is possible that Joe Sillett has come up with a new shape that really does work. Some established Test cricketers are giving it a trial and, even if it fails to ignite the career of a hopeless club player, it will at least give him something interesting to look at.

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