Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Your Kit => Topic started by: tim2000s on May 08, 2013, 07:53:22 AM
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Reading a couple of recent threads on reaction to various CBF Sponsor brands, it made me have a bit of a think.
In the games I've played around London, both SE and SW, I've noticed a profound lack of the more esoteric kit that forum members seem to prefer. When you consider that we are roughly 2,500 members and we play around the country, we are fairly thinly distributed.
Considering that there are 120 teams playing in the Kent Cricket leagues, and that this accounts for 1,320 players if only 11 players ever represent a side. Given that London is covered by at least four, if not more, Leagues, you are probably talking 5,000-10,000 players in league cricket around the London area, plus many more that don't participate in League Cricket.
When looked at in this vein it becomes strikingly apparent why a bat that isn't recognised, looks good, sounds good, and appears to go like a wild one gets a lot of interest. There simply aren't that many of them around and penetration is very low. It also explains why my SAF Hades got so much attention last summer when it was used.
The simple point is that CBF is actually a shop window and users using CBF-sponsor gear are part of that! A good bat from any maker on here gets a lot more attention than anything from the bigger brands simply because they aren't seen very much.
Having said all this, someone is bound to end up playing a team full of people sporting Aldreds, RKs, H4Ls and others....
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I have managed to spread the word in my team and they are starting to come round to the idea that big brands aren't the be all and end all. A mate is getting an RK Custom sent to him today (the 2.10lb) one that Ryan posted in his thread last night, mate has picked up a Spyder recently and always getting asked about my H4Ls.
This season I have seen 2 very nice Bulldogs, a Talisman, several H4L, Woodstock is all over Shropshire, Hawk, couple of Ayrteks, a SAF, and suprisingly, quite a few GM Purists!! Every big brand bat I have seen has been toilet!
Trying to do my bit!
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Very interesting observation Tim. Would have thought that there would be a lot more penetration from the multitude of small brands available in the UK. I think we all tend to forget that 90% of cricketers do not have access to the information about brands and their kit that we are exposed to on the forum and many of them would be happy to fork out £300 for a top end off the shelf bat.
In SA we only have 3 local brands and most cricketers have no idea that you can have a custom made bat in the UK for a lot cheaper than some of the top offerings of the a international and local brands.
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Here is what my team looks like (more than 11 bats as some have more than 1)...
3 H4L
3 RPC (1 is mine)
1 BR Le (mine)
3 BB
2 Bulldogs
1 Woodstoc
3 GN powerbow
I am sure I am forgetting some in there...
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my club is a little boring in terms of bats
slazengers
newberys
kookas,
gray nics
couple of SS
i think im the only one with a custom company bat (itias and warsop)
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When I played in the mid-Essex league, the teams were full of Warsops. More than any other brand. Now I'm out here in Uzi Sports country, I have noticed more than a few of the boutique brands being used.
People still prefer to have a feel for the bat before they buy so the local retailers are very important to what is being used.
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what does "esoteric" mean :)
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what does "esoteric" mean :)
Interest held by a select few/small group.
I like to think of us more of a cult/underground relgion ;)
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Here is what my team looks like (more than 11 bats as some have more than 1)...
3 H4L
3 RPC (1 is mine)
1 BR Le (mine)
3 BB
2 Bulldogs
1 Woodstoc
3 GN powerbow
I am sure I am forgetting some in there...
Yes Tush, but as your team buys most of their bats from you, I'm not remotely surprised that you have that selection in your team ;)
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It does show that there is a huge potential for the boutique bat makers to make a very good living from just their local region.
I do scratch my head a touch when there is such an open goal why these smaller brands don't make a bigger PR push.
It's so easy to scale your reach using simple means such as Twitter, FB, and old fashioned word of mouth.
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It is surprising how quickly things can change in a club once the lads see what is available. My team has gone from all mainstream brands to having a Redback, Ayrtek, Tk Blank, Uzi Green Mamba, BAS, CA, m&h, willowstix and h4l in the space of 3 seasons.
And no those aren't all mine!
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I'm using the only salix that I've seen out and about in my league, but I do play at a very low level. Our skipper has a red ink and loves it. However, in our locale, I'm surprised I haven't seen more Paul Aldred bats - maybe not the top range ones, but the silver sovereigns are comparatively cheap as chips when compared to many of the big name brands. I genuinely don't think that the majority realise that there are guys out there who can make you a belting bat without it costing an arm and a leg.
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I had pretty much the whole oppo crowd around me when I walked in to bat on Sunday with my Laver, I had to check and make sure I wasn't carrying a giant rare diamond! I stuck around for 48 deliveries as well so they could all have a longer look!
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loving the longevity of your innings charlie so the oppo could get their rocks off
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Yes Tush, but as your team buys most of their bats from you, I'm not remotely surprised that you have that selection in your team ;)
Yes but to be honest it just takes one good bat from the forum brand that gets shared and creates a lot more interest than bigger brands..most of these guys are "Brand" suckers but it all started with a H4L and then a RPC....now they ask me to suggest brands and I do my best in trying to get them what would suit...they all know I get them here but they don't sign up...there are other brands we have tried that didn't get any love but I find that I need to be more carefull too as I have noticed that it seems to have an impact on what they decide..
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loving the longevity of your innings charlie so the oppo could get their rocks off
They didn't have much else to do!
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My club consists off:
Aedos (ryan Pringle is sponsored who the lads at aedos will know!)
Crown sports
The odd Vulcan as Paul coughlins brother, josh plays for my club
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My club is fairly boring bat wise, but given the fact we have a huge chase connection, im hardly surprised.
We have:
7 chase
2 M&H (1 mine)
1 BB (mine)
2 GM
1 GN
1 Salix
1 proper retro slazenger
2 newberys
1 Aldred (mine)
1 Nixon
I do wish more people would use brands from here or boutique makers, as even Chase charge huge prices.
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My club are fairly open to all brands but we have the following I know off
4 HitsHard
2 Newbery
1 H4L
3 GN all Oblivion
1 SS
The 2nd eleven have a lot of Salix and M&H between them with one person having a Scat.
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As mentioned elsewhere, tonight the opposition had an Aldred, but the gut who had it plays with fasteddie.
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I've had an influence on the bats at my small village club. I previously had a Stac which went like a train. As a result 8 others bought one. The bats now are more diverse but reflect local bat makers quite heavily as we are a Worcestershire side. They are:
4 Hawk
4 Solitaire
3 DF
2 GM
1 GN
1 Stac
1 Adidas
1 County (Crusader stickers)
1 Kook
1 Bradbury (was mine)
1 H4L (was mine)
1 Newbery (was mine)
1 Willostix (mine)
1 Salix (mine)
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My Club has:
2 HitsHard
1 H4L (mine)
3 GM
2 Kooks
2 Salix
1 MRF
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The strength of forum brands on here is down to personality rather than quality. People see it as buying off a mate, rather than a no name.
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You think so Tom? For some, sure, but certainly not all...
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You think so Tom? For some, sure, but certainly not all...
For sure. There is a certain forum brand who is pissing off quite a few people at the moment, me included.
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Maybe it's just because we don't stock many of them, Tim! ;)
Forum sponsors, if you want to penetrate the London market, I'm open to good offers! :)
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If players knew they could get bespoke bats for less than they pay for a mainstream brand, they would.
It's got to be down to marketing, and marketing costs money.
It's up to us to spread the word and every conversation we have with team mates and (though I never have) opponents is a step in the right direction...
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If players knew they could get bespoke bats for less than they pay for a mainstream brand, they would.
It's got to be down to marketing, and marketing costs money.
It's up to us to spread the word and every conversation we have with team mates and (though I never have) opponents is a step in the right direction...
I'm not convinced this is true. There is a strong brand allegiance in cricket, which is often passed down from generation to generation. Even if someone knew they could get a bespoke bat for £200, but they and their father and grandfather before them had always used a Gray-Nicolls bat and swore by them, I doubt they'd look beyond Gray-Nicolls despite the higher price tag...
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I'm not convinced this is true. There is a strong brand allegiance in cricket, which is often passed down from generation to generation. Even if someone knew they could get a bespoke bat for £200, but they and their father and grandfather before them had always used a Gray-Nicolls bat and swore by them, I doubt they'd look beyond Gray-Nicolls despite the higher price tag...
Paul has a point. My dad used GN.. So when I started in 2009 I used GN.. then in 2011 I brought all new top end GN kit... Purely because my dad said they were the best. I'm guessing I'm not the only one. That's why a few bigger brands give (or used to) deals with the better players at clubs.. players see their kit scoring runs and bang... more 'crap' players will buy their products because the good ones use it.
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I agree to a point, but not exclusively. My own experience is that, having turned up with 'boutique brand' bats, there's a lot of interest from diehard mainstream bat owners who have mentioned they didn't know these options were available.
There is brand loyalty everywhere; millions are spent on marketing to these types of people. I do believe that if the smaller brands are able to access more cricketers we will see more diverse ranges on village cricket fields...
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Our players buy bats in the range of £100 - £190, most players will buy a bat every other season. I haven't really looked around much but the local custom makes come a lot more expensive in this range. Sure there are bargains to be had but it needs time, patience and a little bit of luck.
A local budding company did some marketing at one of our league meetings last year. Seen some of their softs but yet to see one of their bats around.
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I'm only 5 mins drive from hunts county bats. Never used one but there's nothing but they're gear here. I'm waiting on delivery of some ss pads and gloves, having not played for 17 years I'm out of touch with it all, got a load of gear sorted but next thing will be a bat. Anyone reccommend hunts bats? Or should I look further afield?
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Hunts are good and living close I presume you could pop along for a look round. However, I would look into the sponsors as they have some top bats at cracking prices.
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If you live close by and go down to see them you'll be able to get something custom at a similar price as most sponsors offer.
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Thanks ill do that, current,y got a mates old kook Diablo that I'm using for first time tomorrow. But I'd like my own by next year. What sort of money would need spending? Happy paying whatever but its low level cricket really so not sure what's needed, also haven't got a clue what my loan bat is like quality wise, if I get on with it I can keep it but I'd imagine its old hat now
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I'm only 5 mins drive from hunts county bats. Never used one but there's nothing but they're gear here. I'm waiting on delivery of some ss pads and gloves, having not played for 17 years I'm out of touch with it all, got a load of gear sorted but next thing will be a bat. Anyone reccommend hunts bats? Or should I look further afield?
Pop over to Peterborough and see us mate.