How does the position of impact of a ball on a cricket bat affect the vibration of the bat?

Question

How does the position of impact of a ball on a cricket bat affect the vibration of the bat

Answer 1

The previous reply is relevant to the point of impact where the bat does not tend to *rotate* due to impact, not vibrate. This is more relevant to the "sweet spot" (where you'd like to hit), but not your question. The sweet spot in this sense is actually close to the principle antenode, so it will vibrate most if hit there. To minimize vibration, you'd want to strike a principle node, which would be about 1/4 way from either end of the paddle. A node is a point in a vibrational mode that does not move. An antenode is where the displacement is maximum. What you would notice if you hit the princple node is that the sound of the bat would be higher since you'd only be exciting higher harmonics. Likewise, when you hit the sweet spot (near the antenode) the strike is loudest and deepest, since the principle mode is excited most there.

Answer 2

Upon impact with the ball, the bat will rebound. There exists a location along the bat where this rebounding force is completely balanced out by turning moment of the bat. If the ball is hit closer to the end of the bat, the grip of the bat will try to rotate outward of the batsman's hands, whereas if the batsman hits it closer to the handle, the bat's tip will try to rotate inward. There is a small "sweet spot" where these two tendencies cancel out. Hit it on the sweetspot, there are no imbalances and hence no vibrations.