Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Companies => Off-the-shelf companies => Topic started by: justnotcricket86 on March 06, 2013, 08:57:37 AM
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Thought I would stick a thread up relating to Spartan coming to the UK, which they no doubt will given they are sponsoring Prior - thought any retailers on here such as Paul and Jake could post updates to let us know if they hear anything on the grapevine as to who may be taking an order etc.
Prior stuck his kit up on Twitter last night - what do we think?
https://twitter.com/MattPrior13/status/309212218610831361/photo/1
Would we buy it and what prices do we expect to be looking at?
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I wouldn't say they were custom... A real off the shelf brand and probably top dollar.
Stickers look cheap imo. Pads are a bit meh too.
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Actually yeah - put this in the wrong group, if Admin want to move to Off The Shelf then cool.
Not a huge fan of the gloves, pads and keeping pads are decent enough I think, not too sure about the keeping gloves though...
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yeah, I think they're hoping to trade on the names of the professionals who they pay to use their gear rather than on the quality of the gear itself.
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I said it on another thread, but I'll say it again, those batting gloves are gopping
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Not a huge fan of the designs, but I do like that they have a little twist for each player - the St George's cross looks good...
Like the pads and the wk gloves - the batting gloves are shocking!
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Amazing how Spartan can produce such a similar bat to the previous ones he was using.....It's almost like he's just stickered up his old bats isn't it? ;)
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Amazing how Spartan can produce such a similar bat to the previous ones he was using.....It's almost like he's just stickered up his old bats isn't it? ;)
I think the handle sort of gives that away mate - with the lead tape ;)
And they look very .... Slaz
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Whilst I have no direct knowledge I would be amazed if any Sussex player had his bats manufactured anywhere other than a certain batmaker just round the corner from them..... ;) I doubt Prior has ever used a true Slaz bat!
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There are a lot of distributors who sell other brands for retail in the UK who are always 'on the cusp' of agreeing the spartan deal whenever you speak to them.
Its too late for Spartan to launch in the UK for this season in my opinion. Based on their prices in Australia, i doubt we will be stocking much of it next year either. Too many ranges and silly money.
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Spartan have already met with the big retailers, such as Owzat. Don't know dates around a launch though.
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Love the MC Spartan gear, was looking at getting some imported but shipping was crippling!
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I love the colour of them keeping gloves! :D
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On a smaller note, looks as though he's also gone with Masuri after no longer using Slazanger helmets
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Pretty sure the slazenger and masuri helmet are the same. Have to say i'm not that impressed with the spartan gear. It's ok but doesn't really offer anything differnet IMO.
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I prefer the Spartan stuff to another corporate giant like Adidas, stuff work to be done but I could use it.
Stepping stones?
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I really like the look of the pads think they look top class, the rest is a bit meh but at least they're being original with their stickers. I think it will probably look a lot better when in use.
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Those gloves look amazing to me! Think the sickers look a little tacky IMO any ideas on glove prices?!
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I actually quite like the splice stickers, the rest of them I would take off right away.
Both pairs of gloves are horrid, with all that money they're spending on sponsorship you think they'd at least invest some form of funding into making the gloves look reasonably good.
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Amazing how Spartan can produce such a similar bat to the previous ones he was using.....It's almost like he's just stickered up his old bats isn't it? ;)
Wouldn't be overly surprised there sareens
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I'd like to see better pics before deciding but I don't think it looks too bad. Gloves look ok but to me they're a bit like lots of others on the market just with different colours.
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The bat stickers top and bottom are cool, the middle part is cheap and nasty.
The gloves look like something off Romford market!
The person who signed-off that design needs to be impaled.
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For the money they are spending on players ,surely the company must be running at a loss?
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For the money they are spending on players ,surely the company must be running at a loss?
Loss lead maybe? I suppose if you are really trying to break into the market it's the way forward?
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They are pretty big in Rugby and Netball in Australia by all accounts which are two pretty big sports over there I think. They also sponsor Aussie Boxer Daniel Geale who is the current IBF and former WBA Middleweight Champion, which is a pretty big deal considering the huge fights that are on the horizon for him.
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In all fairness if you are serious about breaking into the cricket kit market and have the funds surely it's one of the things you'd do?? Sounds like they have the funds behind them so won't be messing about.
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Personally I like all of the kit, looks smart, love the stickers too. That's just me
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Personally I like all of the kit, looks smart, love the stickers too. That's just me
I like clarke's gear a lot, not the bat but the blue softs are very nice.
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Got to agree to agree Tom like the stuff myself pads look quality
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I love the Gayle stickers too, they look unreal in that colourway.
But I suppose if everyone liked the same gear we'd be a boring sport!
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I've got to say the kit does look lovely! :D
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The stickers remind of me Instinct...don't know if anyone else can see that?
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I wonder if they would release Spartan MC range in the U.K .They have got everything going right for that range.
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They are pretty big in Rugby and Netball in Australia by all accounts which are two pretty big sports over there I think. They also sponsor Aussie Boxer Daniel Geale who is the current IBF and former WBA Middleweight Champion, which is a pretty big deal considering the huge fights that are on the horizon for him.
Slightly off topic, but would like him to fight Macklin and then maybe Golovkin, if he beats both of them I would give him half a chance against Martinez, who won't be beat by anyone at middleweight at the moment. Good for Spartan if he does though!!
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I wonder if they would release Spartan MC range in the U.K .They have got everything going right for that range.
Slaz never did with their MC range which always tended to look pretty damn good.
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Slightly off topic, but would like him to fight Macklin and then maybe Golovkin, if he beats both of them I would give him half a chance against Martinez, who won't be beat by anyone at middleweight at the moment. Good for Spartan if he does though!!
No idea who or what you're on about :)
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If he fought any of the 3 Brits (Murray/Macklin/Barker) he'd make a killing just for being an Aussie! Hope he fights the winner of the Chavez v Martinez rematch.
Boxing PC !!
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BEIPoK4CcAAJ9f9.jpg:large)
Love these stickers look top draw
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If he fought any of the 3 Brits (Murray/Macklin/Barker) he'd make a killing just for being an Aussie! Hope he fights the winner of the Chavez v Martinez rematch.
Boxing PC !!
I imagine he will, Chavez is a stoner. Macklin beat Sturm but wasn't given the descision. He would have a job beating Martinez though!
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I like the look of all this kit except for the keeping gloves which is a bit disappointing seeing as they were the item I was most interested in.
Will be interesting to see their next uk step, amazing to think they would splash the cash on an England player if they weren't going to launch until next year.
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Must admit, Prior's keeping gloves do look quite nice from where I'm sitting. Slightly longer cut as well it would appear.
I'm a fan
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Personally I like all the Spartan gear that Matt Prior has got. If or when it comes to the uk I think I will treat myself to some Prior gear.
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I shall definitely look at the keeping gear
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Online-Stockist-Cricket/121460267865184 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Online-Stockist-Cricket/121460267865184)
Indian made by the looks of the posters on Online Stockist's Facebook page
EDIT: Not the pro's bats i should add
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I reckon there are about 300 spartans there
Ba-dum-tss
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I think these have a good chance of being fake.
After watching Jason's video about Spartan bats, the tape around the handle is the give away.
Fake spartan bats vs real spartan bats (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8XUZmm_lO4#ws)
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I think these have a good chance of being fake.
After watching Jason's video about Spartan bats, the tape around the handle is the give away.
Fake spartan bats vs real spartan bats ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8XUZmm_lO4#ws[/url])
Still, it's not hard to change some grip tape...
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Are you condoning fake bats?
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From Matt Prior twitter account, launching in 3 weeks
@MattPrior13: For the number of people asking the bats & gloves I now use are @SpartanSportsAU which will launch in the UK in 3 wks time! #amazingkit
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Do we know if there going to launch full range??
Any rumours on which shop launching them as could be worth a drive for a peek
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Just read its romida mid April
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On Twitter it now says Romida in 2 weeks...
One thing you can say is that Prior, Clarke and Gayle have done rather well since Spartan sponsored them.
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Romida Leatherhead will have them in two weeks. wonder what prices they will come in at
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Just checked the site, pricing is up
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Rather steep I must say!
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Rather steep I must say!
Agree! Could by yourself two top quality bats from the some of the forum sponsors here for the price of one top end Spartan.
Anybody tempted to spend some hard earned cash on any of the Spartan gear?
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Rather steep I must say!
agree its not the best price. also the weight ranges seem to be very limited.
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The softs are priced at what I would expect them to be.
Bats are on the high side.
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Will probably buy the MC pads and gloves if they are the same as the Oz version.
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The softs are priced at what I would expect them to be.
Bats are on the high side.
I would say they are about the same price as their Kooks so about what I would have expected, but I will stick to my English made bats by English based bat makers/companies.
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I don't think the prices are all that bad - this is a retail outlet after all
here is the full link
https://romida.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=spartan
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So £320 for there top of the range bat. Seems about average pricing in today's standards.
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I thought I saw it as £400
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I thought I saw it as £400
yeah your right, I didn't see the le's
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this brand really does bring the kid out in me, but is it just me or do the softs look pretty cheap and nasty, especially for those prices. just think what you can get for near £100 pad wise. a lot better than that I would say. And chances are the bats will be pretty poor on the whole, might get a few decent ones. conjecture, but conjecture backed by experience of big companies looking to make money and not providing the quality assurance you'd hope for.
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Shame the keeping gloves are different from what Prior has been using
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On the romida site it's the same bat in the MP LE, 1000, 3000 & 5000 pictures with different grips and probably photoshopped stickers.
Naughty?
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They are probably stock photo's given to them by Spartan. Once they mention they have stock in, I will take a visit to the Leatherhead store and see what they are like.
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Prices seem pretty good for the retail market - good pricepoints being hit.
And signing Prior, could be a masterstroke.
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Yes probably are stock photos, but if you are selling a 5000 with a grain sheet on it, should you really have a picture of an obviously higher grade bat with the 5000 stickers on it?
I know stock photos are only a guide but if this was on ebay you'd have all reported them by now!
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Love the bat branding.
It's bonkers!
I guess they are going to get sales, even at the top end of the price point.
A good stable of players.
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Didn't see the Gayle stuff on there just mc and prior
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Didn't see the Gayle stuff on there just mc and prior
Noticed that too, however, re-looking at the site think it mentioned that those bats will be coming in April
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love the chris gayle stuff, my wife is carribean so hoping she gets me one on the basis of the rasta colours
reminds me of the old centurion bats
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CENTURION-PRO-CRICKET-BAT-/151014338196?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&var=&hash=item68cf9e1912 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CENTURION-PRO-CRICKET-BAT-/151014338196?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&var=&hash=item68cf9e1912)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Centurion-Pro-Cricket-Gloves-/151014338200?pt=UK_Protective_Equipment&var=&hash=item232927ee98 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Centurion-Pro-Cricket-Gloves-/151014338200?pt=UK_Protective_Equipment&var=&hash=item232927ee98)
if i owned a bat company this would be my colour scheme.
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Anyone know anything about the Romida exclusivity? Was surprised to read that and don't actually believe they could have an exclusive deal...
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this brand really does bring the kid out in me, but is it just me or do the softs look pretty cheap and nasty, especially for those prices. just think what you can get for near £100 pad wise. a lot better than that I would say. And chances are the bats will be pretty poor on the whole, might get a few decent ones. conjecture, but conjecture backed by experience of big companies looking to make money and not providing the quality assurance you'd hope for.
I've really liked the look of the softs from seeing MC/MP wear them on TV but these pics dont do them any favours IMO. I reckon they'll be nice in the flesh however, i prefer the MC gloves as opposed the MP ones. Wasnt MP wearing the MC gloves in this series?
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Lots of retailers still don't know what's happening.
A single exclusive retailer for 2013 would mean they won't need a distributor yet, and they're available for the Ashes. Might make sense, but can't be long term.
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Romida Leatherhead @RomidaLthrhead 6h Very exciting news coming out of Romida HQ this morning! Romida will be exclusive stockist of @spartancricket in the UK
Available in 2 weeks
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Interesting to read that the CG spartan is in Short Handle only, i thought the bat only came in LH i.e. CG's specs??
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I wonder if they will do it in long blade as other retailers abroad do
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read all
http://spartansports.com.au/about-us (http://spartansports.com.au/about-us)
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when they eventually get released in the UK do you guys think they will become like woodworm, where at one point everyone i knew owned and used one ?
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when they eventually get released in the UK do you guys think they will become like woodworm
Free split with every bat??
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Lots of retailers still don't know what's happening.
A single exclusive retailer for 2013 would mean they won't need a distributor yet, and they're available for the Ashes. Might make sense, but can't be long term.
Romida Leatherhead @RomidaLthrhead 6h Very exciting news coming out of Romida HQ this morning! Romida will be exclusive stockist of @spartancricket in the UK
Available in 2 weeks
Was in at IJC today to chat with Paul after raiding the Oval shop of their stock.
I raised the point (and Paul had heard the same) that a lot of established cricket distributors/reps always talk about being close to a Spartan deal whenever we see them. One of them is still in talks despite Romida appearing to have got an exclusive deal.
I suggested to Paul that maybe Romida thought they were being clever/sharp by going to Spartan direct, but could they possibly have fallen foul of the same fake Spartans that stung Jason at Cricket Store Online a little while back?
The ropey stock photos, incomplete range and exclusivity all suggest it could be a possibility.
Spartan presumably spent big on signing Prior, Clarke, Gayle etc, so surely would want to maximise their sales in a cricket market as big as the UK? Exclusivity with a chain that nearly went bust seems a little odd.
This is all theory and gossip of course.
Either way, its a messy, late launch as i expected. There will be a mad rush on gear, and not enough stock to meet demand, leading to chaos.
I do like the look of the Matt Prior range though.
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Free split with every bat??
That's certainly how I remember my woodworm, hairline cracks all Long the edge, apparently I was lucky.
Woodworm were one of the first to offer chunky bats, who else started the current trend?
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Just watched the Test highlights, got some serious man love for MP and Startan!
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Well the spartan sports account tweeted that romida will be stocking there gear so prob legit
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Well the spartan sports account tweeted that romida will be stocking there gear so prob legit
Fair enough.
Still seems an odd move to me.
I'm very skeptical, i'll enjoy watching the chaos unfold. It's too late to launch properly for this season in my opinion.
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I guess Spartan know they are late to the party for the 2013 season and that supplying enough stock may be an issue so they have therefore decided to just deal with the the one stockist rather than risk not being able to supply everyone?
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I suggested to Paul that maybe Romida thought they were being clever/sharp by going to Spartan direct, but could they possibly have fallen foul of the same fake Spartans that stung Jason at Cricket Store Online a little while back?
Romida have gone direct to Spartan. Not to Pakistan, like Jason did.
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I guess Spartan know they are late to the party for the 2013 season and that supplying enough stock may be an issue so they have therefore decided to just deal with the the one stockist rather than risk not being able to supply everyone?
Exactly this. Spartan are late to the party, and don't have a distributor over here so it's hard to launch fully and properly.
Romida are exclusive retailer for 2013 and it's a lot easier to manage the launch, with just a single person/company to deal with.
Edit: see below post, looks like maybe Romida aren't exclusive. In which case, I take it back.
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Fair enough, was just gossiping really.
Maybe one day soon i'll get a genuine Spartan in for repair/refurb. God knows i've seen enough fakes.
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It's still interesting that, of all the retailers they could have gone with (many who were interested I know), they decided to go with one that went bust just a few months ago...
I will find out more about this story tomorrow and may update the thread if what I hear is appropriate for a public forum...
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"@spartancricket coming soon to http://owzat-cricket.co.uk (http://owzat-cricket.co.uk) details online this week. #onetowatch from @SpartanSportsAU"
Interesting. Takes a twist... Very different to what Romida have been saying.
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What a joke! I agree with Jake, this was already a mess, but now it's getting messier. I can see this being another Woodworm, I really can...
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It is getting messy for sure. Mixed messages, and no real official word from Spartan.
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and yet retailers will gladly take them on. Funny that.
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Really mixed messages being sent around here... I have no doubt Spartan will sell well in the UK, but I don't know if retailers will want to stock them if this is how they handle things!
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So Paul would you stock them if given the chance??
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Dave, if Spartan went through an independent UK agent / distributor whom I know well and trust (which is what I thought the setup would be) then we would have been interested. We certainly wouldn't want to deal with Spartan direct. I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of bidding war has been brought into action on how much £££ to spend on stock. Perhaps Owzat have outbid Romida. I can see Spartan instigating minimum order requirements for "exclusivity", which I doubt they'd do if a UK agent was in place. There's clearly some miscommunication going on either way, and as I said, it's extremely messy, so I can see it blowing up in the faces as there is no structure.
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Romida have the full line of Spartan equipment listed on their website. So seems that they are the only retailers to stock the brand as of now.
Where are Spartan bats made?
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Romida have the full line of Spartan equipment listed on their website. So seems that they are the only retailers to stock the brand as of now.
Where are Spartan bats made?
Jalandhar
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From what I've heard, I wouldn't be surprised if we see more retailers stocking Spartan from June onwards, despite what has been said about the Romida deal. We will not be one of them though...
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Looks like Johan Botha is using Spartan gear today as well
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His wood looks somewhat large and meaty...oooer missus!
Let's see if he puts it to good use. DD are struggling! :o
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The Indian chaps going to get a ton Pete, I can see it coming now 8)
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Poor super fan he looked lost
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Who saw Gayle's Cricket bat last night ? It was a Large cricket bat, Danny Morrison compared it to AB's bat, and AB also had a Big Bat
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i have it on good authority that priors bats are made by a certain hove based company, when i was picking up a few bits of kit from their factory, mr prior himself turned up and picked up a couple of monster blank bats
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Who saw Gayle's bat last night ? It was huge, Danny Morrison compared it to AB's bat, and AB also had a big one.
I seriously cant be the only one who read this and burst into a giggle fit! The innuendos here were too much!
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To add to this.
Allrounder cricket in Leeds know stock the full spartan range
Owzat should be following shortly. I was at owzat when the Indian chap turned up with some gear to discuss.
I recognised him from his pics with gayle and Clarke. I personally find it a tad Wierd he travels around doing the deals personally. But maybe that's just me
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To add to this.
Allrounder cricket in Leeds know stock the full spartan range
Owzat should be following shortly. I was at owzat when the Indian chap turned up with some gear to discuss.
I recognised him from his pics with gayle and Clarke. I personally find it a tad Wierd he travels around doing the deals personally. But maybe that's just me
i personally think its brilliant he does that, shows he cares
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Have it on good authority that he is a little bit nuts, but loves his cricket and really believes in the brand. Looking forward to going to see some of their stock for next season.
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i have it on good authority that priors bats are made by a certain hove based company, when i was picking up a few bits of kit from their factory, mr prior himself turned up and picked up a couple of monster blank bats
This is quite a well-known 'rumour'. But how come when he was out of contract he was using 'blanks' with the TON stamp?
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How long have Spartan been around?
As this is on eBay, and looks a good amount of years old
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/English-Willow-SH-cricket-bat-SPARTAN-MAESTRO-PLUS-GENUINE-OVER-3-lb-/181163854006?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item2a2e3508b6 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/English-Willow-SH-cricket-bat-SPARTAN-MAESTRO-PLUS-GENUINE-OVER-3-lb-/181163854006?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item2a2e3508b6)
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http://spartansports.com.au/about-us
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
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That eBay bat looks a bit chunky for an older looking bat?
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One of my mate's has the pads, extremely squeaky but good protection.
Also, why do they feel the need to put an ugly arrow on everything?
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Look at that bat closely. It looks like an old style GM Maistro bat with a blue Spartan sticker stuck around the original GM logo.
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How long have Spartan been around?
As this is on eBay, and looks a good amount of years old
[url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/English-Willow-SH-cricket-bat-SPARTAN-MAESTRO-PLUS-GENUINE-OVER-3-lb-/181163854006?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item2a2e3508b6[/url] ([url]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/English-Willow-SH-cricket-bat-SPARTAN-MAESTRO-PLUS-GENUINE-OVER-3-lb-/181163854006?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item2a2e3508b6[/url])
That definitely belongs in the eBay tat thread. 'kin awful!
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This is quite a well-known 'rumour'. But how come when he was out of contract he was using 'blanks' with the TON stamp?
Because he was in India and perhaps wanted to try something different on the lower decks over there?
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Because he was in India and perhaps wanted to try something different on the lower decks over there?
I AGREE
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Cricket-Hockey.co.uk will be stocking Spartan soon.
Once in I'll get up there and get some pics and review some gear.
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Dont slazenger own spartan?
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Spartan own the distribution rights to Slazenger-Dunlop in Aus/NZ.
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(http://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o677/luke_kookaburra/cd106729c1ff2576e487dd19ba5e715b_zps45b71ec4.jpg)
Oh dear....
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does anyone know where to get the darren bravo spartan bat? looked nice yesterday on tv when they beat india
also is tino best usingn spartan as well??
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yes tino best is definitely using spartan
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yeah i thought so, but does anyone know where to get the darren bravo bat?
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Yeah it's very random there bat line up.
Most look similar in design,and Clark prior and gayle have there own branded bats, yet johnson anda few other Aussies,plus the windies, use. Ats Sticker like on. They sell?
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bravo had his own branded bat as well mate
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Pup has got some new Aussie themed stickers, also looks like the prior keeping gloves have been updated with extra logos