Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: skippy on January 03, 2009, 04:13:07 PM
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Whats you ideal grains on a cricket bat?
I like all sapwood, ruler straight. About 10-18 grains would do me nicely!
These are my fav grains, recently seen on another forum...
(http://i462.photobucket.com/albums/qq348/rolo_1960/IMG_0014_edited.jpg?t%201230922288)
Anyone else seen any nice grains? ;D
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I could do with these grains thank you!
(http://www.cricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/97600/97680.jpg)
This is probably the ideal face for me
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Looking good, like the pads aswell!
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Yeah I agree, nice and straight, all sapwood, around 10-14 I prefer though, don't like my face too "crowded", i.e. not a fan of the 20 grain Asian bats that are half heartwood. Also don't like huge edges, prefer a simple profile.
Agreed Andy, that willow looks sweet.
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absolutely dead straight all the way down evenly spaced at about 1cm with no heartwood. However, they are reserved for the pros by most companies :(
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Straight grains, 9-12, Evenly spaced, half heartwood. Nice profile, job done.
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I prefer:
8-12 grains (some heartwood is fine). Though have had bats with 16-18 grains also, but the performance was better on the 8-12 grain bats (at least for a longer time). The 16+ grain bats played well from start but did not perform very well over a period of time.
Has a BAS with half heartwood this season and it was amazing. Played really very well, but broke fron the shoulder towards the end of the season. However, cannot complaint as it got me over 600 runs
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I prefer:
8-12 grains (some heartwood is fine). Though have had bats with 16-18 grains also, but the performance was better on the 8-12 grain bats (at least for a longer time). The 16+ grain bats played well from start but did not perform very well over a period of time.
Has a BAS with half heartwood this season and it was amazing. Played really very well, but broke fron the shoulder towards the end of the season. However, cannot complaint as it got me over 600 runs
How many grains did the BAS have mate???
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How many grains did the BAS have mate???
One correction, the BAS with heartwood did not last due to the crack appearing in the shoulder. The other BAS I got (with 12 grains) was the one I used for most of the season. So bot the BAS put together got me approx 600+ runs. The 12 grainer has played really well butt he grains have opned up and I think it will be more of a net bat this season.
All the BAS that I have had were with 9-14 grains. But the Blasters with 9 brains were the best.
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All I care about is evenly spaced and nice a clean.
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I want 7-10 grains ....lots of arguements about whats best etc etc but for me this would personally be ideal.
I would want it in at least Grade 1 but SuperBest gorgeous looking straight grains etc would look amazing.
Its quite nice to be in a position now where I can take my pick of bats that we make, although last season I picked out a grade 2 because it happend to pick up well and had a gorgeous ping to it.... plus not many people ask for lower grades so I thought I'd use it or it might sit unsold.
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"At least Grade 1".......i didnt know it got better than that? I bet the grade 2 performs just as well as any of you grade 1 and aboves.
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I just pinched this online as a guide for you... SuperBest would be Grade 1 plus... I know it can be misleading.
Grade 1 plus - G1+.... the very best of English willow, often reserved for the manufacturers own Pro Players and utilised in such bats described as Limited Edition, Ultimate, SPS or Pro-Performance. Unbleached with straight even grains and absolute minimal marking or discolouration in the face.
Grade 1 - G1 .... top quality English Willow, used in such bats described as Pro, Original, Titanium, Premier or Players. Good straight grain structure and unbleached with minimal marking or discolouration in the face.
Grade 2 - G2 ... Unbleached English Willow with some irregular grain patterning and some minor blemishes and possible reddening in the blade.
Grade 3 - G3 ..... Usually unbleached English Willow with irregular grain pattern and some marking and discolouration in the blade.
Grade 4 - G4 ... English Willow usually bleached and often non oil with a covering to the face of the bat.
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Thankyou, but having graded several thousand clefts myself i have a vague idea of how the clefts are graded - i know grading of willow is subjective and companies will often upgrade 3's to 2's and 2's to 1's - It just annoys me when i see people talk about superbest grade 1 +++ blah blah blah - very often the light clefts which are reserved for the pro's are not grade 1 cosmetically.
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"At least Grade 1".......i didnt know it got better than that? I bet the grade 2 performs just as well as any of you grade 1 and aboves.
Have you spoken to the Watlings at Anglian?
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No, but i suppose you have and will now inform me differently.
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They have Superbest on their pricelist or at least did. Priced at higher than G1 and supposedly better.
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Good for them, but as far as i am concerned this is just the better looking grade 1 clefts, not necessarily lighter and better performing. I would invite anyone to go grading and i bet that they could not tell the difference between grade 1, grade 1+, grade 1+++ and super grade 1 ++++
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If you've never spoken to them or dealt with them how can you pass comment on how they grade?
P.S Using your argument there, is G1 just the better looking G2 clefts? Or do some merchants grade on weight, with G1 being the best?
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Because i said 'as far as im concerned' - hence i am implying that this is my opinion and is open for people to agree or disagree with -which clearly you do (as usual). When i am up in their neck of the woods and i will go and discuss their grading with them, unless of course you can tell how me how they grade their superbest willow. But IN MY OPINION, grade 1 superbest is very often just a marketing ploy.
Tell me Tom, would you not say that it is a coincidence that the lightest clefts also happen to be very often be the nicest cosmetically looking clefts aswell?
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By the way, i quite enjoy the fact that both of us are getting paid to waste time arguing over the internet about stupid scenarios to do with cricket.........same time, same place tomorrow :)
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I would have thought the weight of the willow would be to do with looks, I have virtually no knowledge of willow but if a tree is older (therefore more grains and 'prettier') then the wood may be dryer :-\
The Anglian grading I have only seen on a pricelist so I wouldn't like to pass comment how they may/may not grade.
I have a book on cricket bat willow (Life and Times of the Cricket Bat Willow) i'll stick in the post for you to have a read and post back if you want, written by Doug Watling.
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That would be excellent - cheers!
I guess i got a little carried away, it started off as a rant at the companies that charge £350 for their 'better than grade 1' bats - i just guess that it's more of an annoyance at the variations encountered throughout the cricket community than a specific problem with a certain grade of willow.
Drying the clefts is a very important factor in the weight/performance - not knowing the answer, is there more room for error when drying a broader grained cleft as opposed to easily over-drying a tighter grained cleft???? Would the tighter grained cleft become more brittle when dryed in the same period of a broader grained cleft??
Where's Norb when you need to him?
My head hurts now.......in reply to the post, i like a bat with a lamination, dont care about the grains ;) - i wouldnt mind getting hold of a laminated mongoose.......any danger Tom?
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My perfect willow would be 8-12 ruler straight grains, no heartwodd and a profile which is all edges, no spine.
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Hola.... The grain as you know is the deadwood end of year growth or not as the case maybe. It has no moisture content, the white wood is the sapwood and has the moisture content. Therefore the more grains the lighter the cleft will be but not by a huge amount.
Air/Kiln drying will have the biggest effect on the clefts as they will not all be even in moisture content when they go in but they will all go in together.
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(http://i688.photobucket.com/albums/vv244/atscricket/DSC00503-Copy.jpg)
some good grains tooo, 13 ruler straight!! Made from ultra light cleft, bat weights 1160 gms ( 2lb 9oz ) with a massive profile with 35mm edges. Pros do get best bats but one can also get such bats, Money can buy u anything
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11 straight grains, that'll be fine :)
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When your done with that one, AB... ill give you a tenner for it?
(http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/124800/124881.jpg)
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Someone said about ABD still using old Kook stickers. The moment he uses the new one, BOOM, 278*
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goes to show that they deffo make a difference to how good you are :)
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Someone said about ABD still using old Kook stickers. The moment he uses the new one, BOOM, 278*
By the end of Day 2 he was using old stickers Kook.