Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: WalkingWicket37 on April 06, 2014, 09:57:03 PM
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Now this may be a controversial post, so I will say now this is not a dig at anyone before anyone gets offended.
Is the back of a bat important to you?
And what do you look for on the back of a bat, blemish free, straight grains, both or something else.
Personally, I am not overly fussed about the back of a bat.
If there is a big knot I might be slightly put off, but I can always just cover that with a sticker if need be.
If the face is nice (which to me is blemished anyway) and it pings well, what difference does the back make, you don't (usually) bit the ball with the back of a bat.
However!
I saw a Newbery tour on eBay a while back (they're all made from SPS willow) which had two huge knot on the back. In this car I would be put off buying, just because of the price.
If I spent over £300 (which I don't think I'm likely to do - in fact I'm unlikely to spend over £150) on a bat I wouldn't want any knots anywhere, I'd expect blemish free willow for such a high price.
So in short:
Do you care what the back of the bat looks like?
If yes - what do you look for?
Would a blemish on the back of a high end bat put you off?
Interested in people's thoughts :)
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I like a nice design in the stickers. Rest i couldnt care less aboutm
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If I am buying the top end bat I like to see the grains run straight though the toe and back if it's a cheap bat I not to bothered as long as the face is clean I am happy
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Nothing too ugly, fairly similar to the front style wise. No awful knots but a bit of character is fine. Decent stickers, not too many.
Sent from my iPhone 5S using Tapatalk
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I have had 6 professional players bat 3 of them match used and can confirm 4 has great grains on the front no so on the back.
I go for size and rebound over anything i do not care what the back looks like.
Best looking bat i owned was a right plank ;)
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Its all relative to the price I am paying, doesn't matter the back or the face of the bat. If I am paying for top of the line it needs to look and play like it and if I am paying for a bargain then I am more open to accepting imprefections.
I understand that you don't play from the back of the bat but if that blemish on the back is going to make the bat potentially suseptible to breaking then I don't want to see it n my bats, considering no one know exactly how any of these imperfections impact the bat with any certainity I assume all imperfections to be potentially damaging, prepare for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if I am wrong.
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When I am batting I am watching the ball, not the back (or front) of the bat...
not something I worry about - I get it looks lovely when you have perfect grains front and back and clean through the toe.
But that so rarely happens, personally, I really don't worry about it.
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I see your point about the knot. I know that Matt @H4L in the past has downgraded on such blemishes, but they all grade differently.
I really don't care what the back looks like. Although on a nice woman I do like strong lightly muscular backs. That's sexy, more so than grains (now that's controversial).
What is good to look down at is a decent amount of wood. That gives me confidence.
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Ha, that last line could be misconstrued! :D
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Ha, that last line could be misconstrued! :D
it was left that way.......
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Ha, busy at work, wasn't quite on the ball there! :-[
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This is a good topic actually.
While I like my bats to look as good as they can, I will always make my decision on face grains and things like the profile/size.
The best looking bat I've ever had was also the worst performing, a GN Maxi Original, it had 12 perfect grains on the front and back and no blemishes but it was an absolute plank!
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I'll be honest, if there's any filler or massive imperfection or knot on the back which isn't covered by a sticker, I don't think I would like looking down at my bat during my stance. I also don't like the look of a bat to be ridiculously concaved in my stance, just a personal preference. The stickers also must look good, as we all know they add to the performance of a bat. ;)
A slight blemish wouldn't put me off a high end bat, like a little bit of graping or a little watermark, but I would not expect any pin knots on the back of a top end bat.
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It depends what price I am paying for the bat, i would'nt buy a bat with knots in the back though (if I can see them) as i have known them to fall out on impact with the ball.
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It depends what price I am paying for the bat, i would'nt buy a bat with knots in the back though (if I can see them) as i have known them to fall out on impact with the ball.
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For me it doesn't really matter. Frankly, I don't even remember how the back of some of my bats are like. If I am paying high price for the bat then yes, I would not like to have huge knots on the back (but a tiny knot or two are still fine).Most importantly I want it to ping.
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I generally don't care about imperfections on the back of the bat as long as the bat itself plays well and feels good in hands.
The only time I would have a problem with it is when the bat is being sold as grade 1 or other categories above grade 1 defined by various manufacturers and I am paying a lot of money for it.