Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: thomofwales on August 14, 2013, 06:22:52 PM
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Good Evening all,
First post, so better introduce myself :) My name is Thom, I'm 29 years old currently playing for West Farleigh CC (Kent Invicta League Second Division) and Little Chart CC (Kent Village League Div 3). Learnt my trade in South Wales where I played junior cricket for Blackwood, Newbridge and Aberdare, followed by senior cricket at Maesycwmmer CC and Ystrad Mynach. Right arm opening bowler but would like to start offering more in the batting department.
In desperate need of a new stick but dead set on getting the research in before hand. Previously I'd only considered grade when shopping for bats but this doesn't quite equate to a set number of grains which I'm starting to think may be the real key to getting the best bat for my buck (save the inclusion of heartwood, blemishes etc).
What would you look for in a new bat - grade or grains?
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Things I consider
Grains, pickup, feel, blenishes, handle shape, colour of the stickers, edge size, toe guard and scuff sheet fitted or not then price, in that order!
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how many grains would you consider acceptable/desirable
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okay, heres the shoot, everyone on this forum will have varying views, however, we all stand by one thing, and that is that any form sponsor will offer you a quality stick at lower prices than lets say GM GN or Puma. I would shoot a message to any of the sponsors asking about a lower grade bat, for example, Ryan's lower grades are outstanding from what ive heard, as are Aldred's and infact as are most. however, if you are looking to go grade one, look no further than the forum, again cause of the prices, you could get a G1 for 170, and have the assurance of quality customer service, what more could you want? I am not saying that the sponsors are the only guys to offer good bats, but what I am saying is you could not go wrong with a bat from them. What I consider when buying a bat in this order: feel (pick up, handle shape, balance etc) then shape, then looks, then price.
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how many grains would you consider acceptable/desirable
grains genuinely dont matter that much, however, it is all personal preference. If I were you, I'd discount looks for a minute, and assure performance (read my reply above lol) after you are guaranteed performance I would look for the bat that you personally like, lookswise, I like about 8-12 grains personally.
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cheers both, think I'll nip up to Salix on Saturday and pick a few up and get an idea of weight, grips, profiles.
Been a while since I went bat shopping :)
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I always follow what the top people in their profession do.
I have never seen a top test player with a bat that has less than 10 grains and blemishes or knots on the face. I see heartwood a lot so that is no issue.
So now you have that in mind go out and see the cheapest UK made place you can get that from.
£200 should get you that, you don't need to pay £300 for stickers or to companies who need to recover sponsorship fees.
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cheers both, think I'll nip up to Salix on Saturday and pick a few up and get an idea of weight, grips, profiles.
Been a while since I went bat shopping :)
Very good choice mate :D
In all honesty the number of grains on a bat does quite often not always equal great performance. Personally if you can find a stick with straight and even grains approx 6-8 you will get a great balance between performance and a bat that if looked after and knocked in should last a good time. Check out the HitsHard bats at Salix.
From the forum I have an aldred silver that was £115 and a Vulcan and choice that didn't cost mush more and they all performed very very well. H4L offer. Devil grade which is spoken of highly as well.
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Ive always been a sucker for 12 grains on a bat. Personally i think you want to be looking for between 7 to 14 straight evenly spaced grains that means the tree has grown at an even pace. Also try and get a bat that has the grains going straight through the toe. Grains arnt the be all and end all you have to like the feel of a bat and give a few a mallet test for "ping". Good luck
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how many grains would you consider acceptable/desirable
Most of the time more grains = higher price so ideally one need to know your budget before suggesting what you should go for.
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Most of the time more grains = higher price so ideally one need to know your budget before suggesting what you should go for.
Usually but there are bargains out there ..... that bat i got Toenails for £200 was like a £400 GN or GM and I see some Aldred's that look like that as well
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cheers both, think I'll nip up to Salix on Saturday and pick a few up and get an idea of weight, grips, profiles.
Been a while since I went bat shopping :)
if you go to salix I bet you all the bats in Pete's collection that you won't leave empty handed...
ask your question to Andrew Kember and let us know what he says... he will give you better advice than most...!!
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How many bats does Hosk have .... 100?
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I always follow what the top people in their profession do.
I have never seen a top test player with a bat that has less than 10 grains and blemishes or knots on the face. I see heartwood a lot so that is no issue.
So now you have that in mind go out and see the cheapest UK made place you can get that from.
£200 should get you that, you don't need to pay £300 for stickers or to companies who need to recover sponsorship fees.
Yes and No Azhar Ali has blemishes but i guess he not top test player yet Trott has a few blemishes as well.
Top players go for feel in there hands over anything but i know you know this and agree around the price
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I have seen grade 3 with 12 plus grains
and bats with 5/6 grains as belters
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I have seen grade 3 with 12 plus grains
and bats with 5/6 grains as belters
Warsop's 5* (4-6 grains) at £96 seems unbelievable value considering what you get from off the shelf brands.
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Warsop's 5* (4-6 grains) at £96 seems unbelievable value considering what you get from off the shelf brands.
Anyone seen / used one of these? It does seem excellent value for a handmade bat to be honest
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Anyone seen / used one of these? It does seem excellent value for a handmade bat to be honest
A lad in our 2nd team has one and he scores a fair few runs, never used it but sounds and looks nice for a sub £100 bat.
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As the season coming to an end there's no rush to get a bat so take your time, visit some Retailers, bounce a few balls. Don't dismiss the main brands as you can pick up some bargains in lower or top grade.