The best cricket bats in the world are made in England and India from willow trees. A bat is the long stick that cricket players use to hit the ball.
Bats from India are particularly sought after. This is because they are much less expensive than English bats.
Bats from India cost between $50 and $500, while those made in England cost three to four times as much.
The bat factories are in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and they employ around 100,000 people.
The area produces about 3 million bats each year. Factories have customers in 125 countries. The cricket bat business brings in around $12 million to the Indian economy. Kashmiri bats account for about 70 percent of the world market because of their lower cost.
However, many of the factories in the area have closed down due to a severe shortage of willows.
As Indian-made bats became more popular around the world, more and more willow trees were cut down. New willows were not planted to replace them. Timber farmers chose to grow different types of wood that grow faster than willow trees.
Mohammad Shafi Dar is 55 years old. He is one of the skilled workers involved in the manufacture of cricket bats. Take a piece of willow and cut it with a chainsaw. He then passes it on to another workshop for the rest of the bat-making process.
Dar followed his father into the business when he was young. He told VOA that for the first time he is worried about losing his job.
“In the last two years,” he said, “bat production has decreased.” He said about six workers recently lost their jobs at his factory.
On the main highway that connects Kashmir to mainland India, there are 400 cricket bat factories. Drivers see pieces of willow collected along the road. Fifty factories have closed because they do not have the wood they need.
Workers who lose their jobs don’t have many other job choices. Dar said they can become daily labourers, work in agriculture or become sand diggers.
Fayaz Ahmad Dar is the president of the Cricket Bat Manufacturers Union of Kashmir. He said the willow shortage started about five years ago. He said the business is almost “Missing due to full reason negligence.” Factories in the area, he said, are getting only half the supply they used to get.
Ahmad Dar said tree growers in the area are planting cottonwood and poplar. Wood from those trees can be used to make plywood, which is used in the construction industry. Those trees grow faster and their wood can be sold faster. Willow trees grow more slowly.
Ahmad Dar said he has spoken to the director of commerce and industry for the Kashmir area. He told her about the growth of cricket around the world and how important the area’s factories are to the sport.
Ahmad Dar said that he demanded that the government set aside land that can only be used for planting willow trees so that the cricket bat business in Kashmir can survive.
After the meeting, Sher-e-Kashmir University’s agriculture department sent 1,500 small willow trees to the bat producers for planting.
Ahmad Dar, however, said this was not nearly enough. Bat growers need many more trees than that. He said that just one bat company needs wood from 10,000 to 15,000 trees each year in order to meet demand.
I’m Dan Friedell.
Muheet Ul Islam wrote this story for VOA. Dan Friedell adapted it for teaching English.
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The words in this story
Missing – adjective. it no longer exists
malpractice – n. failure to pay attention to something
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