David Warner has defended his use of thick, lightweight bats, and said he believed flat pitches were a more significant factor in any perceived imbalance between bat and ball in Test cricket.Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting recently argued for greater regulation of bat depth and weight - at present only a bats length and width are restricted - in the long form, a call that found support from fast bowler Josh Hazlewood. Ponting will be at the MCCs World Cricket Committee meeting at Lords next week, and he said bat size would be part of the discussion.The Gray Nicolls Kaboom bats used by Warner are notable for the extreme thickness of their edges, but they are made of a lightweight wood that makes them deceptively easy to wield. Warner said there were downsides to using such bats, including the greater likelihood of being caught off a leading edge, and he said the state of pitches had a greater say in determining scores.If we look around the country, I think the wickets are pretty much dictating, Warner told reporters in Sydney on Friday. A lot of batsmen are scoring a lot of runs, there have been a lot of runs scored in the last 12 to 18 months; you cant specifically come out and say it is the big bats, because everyone around the country and around the world is scoring a lot of runs. In my mind it is a credit to the bat maker.Ponting argued that restrictions to bat size should only occur in the longer form of the game and thick, lightweight bats should be allowed to remain in one-day and Twenty20 cricket. In those shorter forms, he said, spectators expected to see plenty of boundaries and entertaining batting, but in Test cricket it was more important to ensure the balance between bat and ball was as fair as possible.If people think that it is becoming an unfair advantage they will speak their opinions, but we are getting bigger and stronger and are capable of using bats that are a bit heavy, Warner said. In Test matches I use a smaller bat unless we are playing in the subcontinent, where I use a heavier bat. My bigger bats might be a lot larger than other players bats, but it is still the same cleft of wood.Australia coach Darren Lehmann said the size of bats were just about right, but also expressed safety concerns for bowlers at nets.Where they [the size of bats] are at now, is about right, maybe a little bit less, Lehmann said. They will certainly make it stock standard for everyone. The edges are too big on some of the bats.I see health and safety as a big issue, especially more so in the nets. To be fair, bowlers and net bowlers in the nets are a real worry for us. The way they hit them now, they are stronger athletes - they hit them harder, there is no doubt about that. It [injuries] are going to happen somewhere, hopefully it doesnt, but you have just got to be mindful of all that. Wholesale Tigers Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Custom Detroit Tigers Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Detroit Tigers Shirts .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Detroit Tigers Gear . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A chancellor will rule within the week on whether a co-owner of the Nashville Predators can keep his lawsuit against the teams ownership group in a Tennessee court or have to submit to arbitration.Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle heard nearly three hours of arguments Wednesday on a motion that would force David Freeman out of her court and back into arbitration with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.Freeman, a former team chairman, sued Predators Holdings LLC and current team chairman Tom Cigarran on June 23 and is seeking $250 million in damages for his original 48 percent stake in the team being diluted.The lawsuit states that Freeman, through Commodore Trust, organized the Holdings investment group in 2007 to keep the Predators in Nashville. But it charges that some Holdings members have conspired to repay his dedication to the team and community by claiming that Commodore owns less than one percent of Holdings.The lawsuit also states that members of the Predators ownership group have refused to treat Commodore Trust as an owner and have repudiated Holdings commitment to compensate plaintiffs in return for tens of millions of dollars of loan guaranntees that kept the Predators solvent and in Nashville.ddddddddddddThe complaint names Cigarran the chief architect of this scheme.Freeman has been involved in other NHL arbitration cases over the past year, but the lawsuit argues that Bettman cannot be impartial because he has an obligation to protect the league.At Wednesdays hearing, attorneys for Freeman and Commodore Trust, which is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, argued that league rules are so overly broad that they wrongly could allow the commissioner to arbitrate this case. They also argued Freeman is technically not a co-owner of the team but rather an investor in a trust whose business dispute should not be decided by the commissioner.Lawyers for Predators Holdings and the NHL defended the commissioners impartiality and the leagues constitution, which gives Bettman the right to handle disagreements among both clubs and owners through arbitration. They also said Freeman agreed to arbitration when he signed consent agreements as part of buying the Predators in December 2007. ' ' '