Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Custom Made => Topic started by: MWilson14 on March 20, 2014, 10:49:12 AM
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Hi Guys,
Wanting to buy a new cricket bat.
As you guys know, one of the hardest decisions in buying a bat, is what one to buy?
I want to buy 1 of these four sticks, Heard some amazing stuff about Screaming cat, and Laver and wood and a bit about Affinity. But almost nothing about Fisher cricket bats? (Made by Lachlan Fisher in Melbourne) Is the screaming cat worth the 125-225 dollars? From what I believe, Fishers best wood, is the same as Julian s professional grade?
Please help me out about this, Comment opinions, and I would love for you guys to post some pictures of these bats if so.
Regards Matt
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Welcome to the forum mate! As a "newby", you will soon learn that it is not "I want to buy one of these fours bats" but rather, "I have just purchased my fourth bat (possibly this month!), and which should I take pics of and review first?" :D
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In all seriousness, I have owned L&W, Scats and a few Affinities and can recommend ALL three of them wholeheartedly, although I found the L&W a bit hit and miss with regards to weights and performance. I must admit that recently, I have bought a H4L off IJC and a Black Mamba Pro for Uzi and am seriously impressed with their performance! You can't go wrong on here, mate! Consider Paul at Aldred also, he has a fantastic, no bulls%#t attitude towards bats and what works! Very much the same with Julian from Scat and Marcus from Affinity! The BEST performing bat I have every had is my current Persona from Affinity! The H4L and Uzi aren't far behind though...
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Just been on fishers website,
Nothing shouts "buy me". The stickers are awful, and they show the same profile over and over again.
Interesting that they claim you should buy a net bat as the "bowling machine blunt performance, and kills rebound" on a match bat?
Is that BS?
Makes me think "stay away" than "buy buy"
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How much do you want to pay? They are all good brands and all work very, very well. The one which will make you a better player is the cheapest with the remainder spent on coaching.
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Interesting that they claim you should buy a net bat as the "bowling machine blunt performance, and kills rebound" on a match bat?
I'd go the other way, bats get better the more they're used, so using your match bat in the nets is a good idea as it helps the bat 'open up'z
That's only up to a point though, after a lot of runs and balls a bat starts to die (apparently, I'm not sure anyone on here would keep a bat long enough to find out!) :D
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How much do you want to pay? They are all good brands and all work very, very well. The one which will make you a better player is the cheapest with the remainder spent on coaching. one with most grains, biggest edges and whichever one they tell you is Pingier!
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I'd go the other way, bats get better the more they're used, so using your match bat in the nets is a good idea as it helps the bat 'open up'z
That's only up to a point though, after a lot of runs and balls a bat starts to die (apparently, I'm not sure anyone on here would keep a bat long enough to find out!) :D
I think it comes down to the type of balls used... I don't like the "bola" type balls as I believe it does kill a bat. Bit like using cheap and nasty cricket balls... Not good for bats are they
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I think it comes down to the type of balls used... I don't like the "bola" type balls as I believe it does kill a bat. Bit like using cheap and nasty cricket balls... Not good for bats are they
Couldn't agree less. A ridicolous statement,
My Malik has done about 10hours against bola balls, without a single issue. Yet the one kid with the sports direct ball put a 2inch round indent in the dam thing and a fair few cracks. And that was just one ball! I refused to face him again and just let it hit the back.
Maybe you have different "bola" balls, but ours are kinda rubberised, and IMO softer than a normal ball. While also been made to last as they get a fair amount of abuse.
Edit:
A quote from bola's website
"BOLA 5oz Practice Balls. Polyurethane practice balls in red or yellow with soft case to protect bats from damage. Dimpled like a golf ball for stable flight. These give the best accuracy and realistic bounce. Yellow balls for better visibility indoors. Red for realism."
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I have just bought a £45 bat from MSR.
Based on the above bat options that will leave me somewhere between £200-£300 to spend on coaching...
Too many bat snobs around here!!
Edit: I am just off to wash my mouth out ;)
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I have just bought a £45 bat from MSR.
Based on the above bat options that will leave me somewhere between £200-£300 to spend on coaching...
Too many bat snobs around here!!
Edit: I am just off to wash my mouth out ;)
A life on the backbenches awaits......
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I think it comes down to the type of balls used... I don't like the "bola" type balls as I believe it does kill a bat. Bit like using cheap and nasty cricket balls... Not good for bats are they
Agreed, having tried to do catching practice with Bola Balls before they hurt your hands a damn sight more than a cricket ball!
And i've been told at Warsop before to stay away from Bowling Machines with a new bat, and they do know a thing or two about willow. Which is why I find this notion of using the bowling machine to knock in a bat totally absurd.
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You have found the right and wrong place.
Right; You'll get loads of no bs opinions and people with a lot of experience of many brands.
Wrong; You'll end-up buying a room full of bats.
Middle ground?
Tim came closest.
Buy the one which gives you wood and scores you runs.
Spend the rest of a great bottle of wine (I'm off with Buzz tin hat on).
Enjoy. :D
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A bowling machine ball is the perfect way to get a bat going. There are plenty of established bat makers who promote the use of a bowling amchine to knock in the face of a bat.
If BOLA balls should be avoided because they kill the ping, then so should cricket balls?! They are just as hard, and the same weight. The only difference is a BOLA ball doesn't have a nasty hard/sharp seam, which is what makes a BOLA ball ideal for knocking a bat in, as you don't have to worry about the seam bursting through the top layer of wood while it is still vulnerable.
I think the batmakers advising against BOLA balls are doing so for a different reason. Everyone knows a hard indoor surface has no give, nor does a BOLA ball, so when you jab a yorker the bat is the one that is likely to go. Toe repairs are the most common repair work in my experience, so these bat makers are sensibly minimising their after care workload.
Never play at a yorker at indoor nets or when using a bowling machine and you won't have an issue.
I knocked in my laver and wood on the edges and toe with a mallet and sink rim. I then spent many hours on a bowling machine to get the bat going. To start with it was hard, with a lot of vibration feedback and the performance bordered on planky. It is now one of the best bats i have owned.
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I was just going on what i'd heard from them and the feedback from my poorly palms! Your reasoning makes perfect sense Mr Vitas, and i'm sure works great.
But it won't annoy my girlfriend and neighbours in the same precise manner knocking one in with a mallet does now will it?
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I was just going on what i'd heard from them and the feedback from my poorly palms! Your reasoning makes perfect sense Mr Vitas, and i'm sure works great.
But it won't annoy my girlfriend and neighbours in the same precise manner knocking one in with a mallet does now will it?
Thats the nature of willow, some bats give terrible vibration feedback, some don't. Thankfully most can be patiently teased into performing with much less vibration through knocking in, or bowling machine use, or of course just playing with the bat in normal matches/nets.
Thankfully it is a noise my other half doesn't have to deal with anyone, before we started this venture I had bats all round the house, at various stages of knocking in.
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I think it comes down to the type of balls used... I don't like the "bola" type balls as I believe it does kill a bat. Bit like using cheap and nasty cricket balls... Not good for bats are they
I half agree
One of the Mong bowlers used a sports direct ball (nails I didn't know until it was too late) which resulted in my new Six6 (that I'd lovingly knocked in) breaking and requiring dowels in the edge (it's now stronger than new and I did a quality job, if I do say so myself ;) )
Never had a problem using a new bat and Bola balls though, aids the knocking in process from my experience.
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I have L&W signature and Scat. It would sound absurd but my recent purchase TON Reserve is better than these.
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I've had a laver, which after a bit of a weight reduction, I loved, until it was killed by a cheap ball
I've now got an affinity spectre, which is hitting the ball nicely,and the pick up is spot on
My sons Affinity carbine is very very nice, on a different level to his m&H bats
But,,, I too would like to try one of Aldreds stunning looking bats, ,and I'm currently saving up for one of Asads Uzi pro bats,which both look and pick up amazing, ,and trust me, if you bounce a ball on one these bats,you too will want one!
There's some very very nice bats out there,,,,B3,Ton,Salix,Red Ink,Rob Pack have all caught my eye lately with some stunning offerings
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It's not the bola or jugs balls so much as the repetition that's the problem. If you bat 20 overs, face half the balls, hit 80% of them you're looking at 40-50 balls and unless you're a freak you would be lucky to middle maybe half. On a bowling machine you middle a large % of them because you know what's coming. I have seen many nice bats ruined by overuse on a machine.
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You've got to love the internet,
We are on a forum where bats get sold before evening being used. Yet now everyone believes that practice kills bats, and they've all witnessed it.
Sheep everywhere.
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You've got to love the internet,
We are on a forum where bats get sold before evening being used. Yet now everyone believes that practice kills bats, and they've all witnessed it.
Sheep everywhere.
If people have had a bad experience with a bowling machine or something else, it doesn't make them sheep! If it's through hearsay then yes, it would, but if there's been an experience then it means they've learnt from their experiences.
Willow being a natural product will lead to some irregularities and some outliers from normal use. I personally haven't used a good bat ogainst a bowling machine as i've been informed by knowlegable people (in the real, non internet forum, world) but other people have, and have had good results. I trust Warsop. Does that make me a sheep? I doubt it.
Right thats my moment over.
Back to the point. I would go for an Affinity if i were you my man, they're a fair bit of cash, but all the ones i've seen and had a swing of are b-e-a-utiful pieces of craftmanship.
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I've been into Fisher's shop as I had him do a refurb for me. My customer service experience was not what I was hoping for but I can say he had some seriously excellent bats in stock that I was looking at.
I've got a Laver that I am playing in (fully knocked and now in the nets). It's a bit "tinny" at the moment, in my opinion, but I'm giving it time to open up and am in no rush.
.......and I've ordered a bat from Paul Aldred!
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It's not the bola or jugs balls so much as the repetition that's the problem. If you bat 20 overs, face half the balls, hit 80% of them you're looking at 40-50 balls and unless you're a freak you would be lucky to middle maybe half. On a bowling machine you middle a large % of them because you know what's coming. I have seen many nice bats ruined by overuse on a machine.
This is utter rubbish!!!!
seriously - how can you think this?
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You've got to love the internet,
We are on a forum where bats get sold before evening being used. Yet now everyone believes that practice kills bats, and they've all witnessed it.
Sheep everywhere.
Baaaaa....
In all seriousness, what a load of rubbish about machines ruining bats. Couldn't agree more. Most of the people on here who have had bats for longer than two minutes would agree that a bat reaches its peak at somewhere between 500 and 1000 runs and maintains this for another 1000-2000 or so. That's a huge number of balls faced.
If this were true, the bats that Sachin and MC have done all they can to keep hold of would have been dead a long time ago, and even facing cricket balls, I guarantee they middle a hell of a lot more than most of us on here...!
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Even the pro's use there bats against machines. You can tell by the green marks that are left behind.
Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Tapatalk
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This is utter rubbish!!!!
seriously - how can you think this?
Experience, which part do you find hard to understand?
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Experience, which part do you find hard to understand?
When you say ruined how? I find it very hard to believe that a bowling machine ball will harm a bat in any way.
The fact that I have been using bowling machine as my main source of batting practice for the last 5 years and have yet to see a single one of my or any of the guys I net with have any issues with the bowling machine ruining bats!!
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At one point, I was netting at 1-2 hours and at least twice a week last year! And none of the bats I was using lost performance!! :o
IF (and it's a big if) bola balls make performance worse on a bat, it is extremely marginal as I have never noticed this! And it is counteracted by the improved timing and stroke play I would get from all the practice!
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It's not the bola or jugs balls so much as the repetition that's the problem. If you bat 20 overs, face half the balls, hit 80% of them you're looking at 40-50 balls and unless you're a freak you would be lucky to middle maybe half. On a bowling machine you middle a large % of them because you know what's coming. I have seen many nice bats ruined by overuse on a machine.
So what you're saying is that using the middle of the bat ruins it?
Or should we just practise edging it in the nets?
If this is a concern why not buy a £30 MSR net bat with similar weight pickup and middle to your match bat.
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When you say ruined how? I find it very hard to believe that a bowling machine ball will harm a bat in any way.
The fact that I have been using bowling machine as my main source of batting practice for the last 5 years and have yet to see a single one of my or any of the guys I net with have any issues with the bowling machine ruining bats!!
Delamination from repeatedly hitting the ball in same spot is the major issue, I work in the industry and it's a common problem, in Australia any way.
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So what you're saying is that using the middle of the bat ruins it?
Or should we just practise edging it in the nets?
If this is a concern why not buy a £30 MSR net bat with similar weight pickup and middle to your match bat.
Or take up bowling?? ;)
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Delamination from repeatedly hitting the ball in same spot is the major issue, I work in the industry and it's a common problem, in Australia any way.
How many thousand balls are you talking about here?
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Delamination from repeatedly hitting the ball in same spot is the major issue, I work in the industry and it's a common problem, in Australia any way.
So the middle of your bat de-laminates after a few net sessions from being used too much?? ???
Sorry Mr Bradman...
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I think we have hijacked the thread... Maybe time to get back to the original OP... And start a new thread on this if need be
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So the middle of your bat de-laminates after a few net sessions from being used too much?? ???
Sorry Mr Bradman...
Who mentioned a few sessions? Compare a 20 min net against a machine to facing a few bowlers, you will hit far more in the middle of your bat against the machine. It's an excessive repetition thing, not a hit once a week for a few buckets. Granted it does make a difference on where the bats made.
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I think we have hijacked the thread... Maybe time to get back to the original OP... And start a new thread on this if need be
Fair enough, just seems a lot of fluff seems to get passed on here as fact. Lachlan Fisher is a very nice guy but very old fashioned in his bat making.
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Without causing any more controversy I would say any 1 of SC, L&W or Affinity, whichever is cheaper (likely Affinity).
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I have a Fisher Custom. Not pretty like my Newbery Uzi but it's an amazing bat. They are soft pressed and the middle rebounds superbly. Great value for money.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/22/jatezeqy.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/22/8uzenasu.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/22/ehuramam.jpg)
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Sorry to sway off topic one of my bats has had around 30 hours of bola bowling machine time and I can tell you now it is fully played in and ready and on par with any bat I have used.
Sometime reading this forum is painful so using bola balls damages your bat
We all might as well just look at bats because from day one everything you do damages your bat.
As for the bat choices all great bats mainly over priced.
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Never tried or seen a Screaming Cat or a Fisher. From experience, Laver make a top top bat, and Affinity are really quite good too! Either one would make you a good bat. Are there any shapes that you particularly like that off the shelf brands offer?
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I believe Screaming Cat aren't making bats til later in the year as Julian is having a break! So that's something to factor in.
I'm in Western Australia and have a Laver and love it! A little harder pressed but rebound is great, equal to or better than my H4L and a really nice feel.
Pick-up is one thing I've noticed different from UK and Aussie bats. I guess because all of our bats predominantly have higher middles we're use to better picking up bats.
Bradbury is also another Aussie company to look into, great husband and wife team and make a bloody nice bat. I've also heard fishers go well.
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Bradbury is also another Aussie company to look into, great husband and wife team and make a bloody nice bat.
Great call. I picked up a Bradbury Kudos grade 2 the other week at GCCC. Great pick up and better ping than many grade 1s.
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Was talking to Paul Bradbury for hours on saturday! Fantastic man who was very open and honest! I'd recommend going to him direct as he is churning out some absolute screamers at the moment!