Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: stevie on July 04, 2008, 08:01:28 PM
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I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently and i was wondering how do batmakers manage to put the middles in different places in bats?
Also can people tell me the benifits of a mid middle, a low middle and a high middle. I have heard that having a low middle means it could have a bad pick up but i'm not sure if this is true?
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Usually weight distribution, if you leave a lot of willow in the toe end of the bat you'll have a low middle. Whereas if you take a fair bit from the toe and leave more up the bat you'll get a higher middle.
With anything the further the weight is away from your hands the heavier the pickup. Easiest way to explain this is with the old pivot diagrams and see saws you do at school in Science.
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Placing the middle of a bat in different positions is not as hard as you may think.
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x242/e4sby/middleheight.jpg)
For any budding batmakers the easiest way is to mark a line where you want the middle to be and then taper it down to the toe of the bat. If you want to make this point higher or lower just mark the line further up the bat or closer to the toe.
As Tom says the lower the middle the heavier the pick up as the bulk of the weight is further away from your hands.
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Off topic but good looking bat Chris
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Think it was 2lb 9oz, thats my basic shape bat.
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Thats the shape im hoping to get... only 2lb 8
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Ref: James Laver: http://www.laverwood.co.nz/batsweetsp.htm
The sweet spot or middle of the bat is the area of the blade where you are looking to strike the ball most of the time to ensure that you achieve the largest amount of power in the shot you are playing. The middle is dictated by the profile through the back of the bat.
Most players will have a bat with the sweet spot in the normal position. This would be about 4” from the toe to 12” from the toe. A bat with a normal sweet spot will suit a batsman who plays the full range of shots and does not favour any shot in particular.
A high sweet spot is usually 5” from the toe through to 13” from the toe. This bat suits a batsman who opens or prefers playing short pitched bowling, and off the back foot. With a higher sweet spot, the weight distribution is higher up the blade, meaning that the bat speed is faster. This type of bat suits those who like playing cuts, hooks and pulls.
A low sweet spot is usually 3” to 11” from the toe. This type of bat suits a player that enjoys driving the ball and playing aggressively during the final overs of a game. It is particularly suited to wickets that do have much bounce – those that are damp or have good grass cover. The pick up is affected due to the weight of bat being nearer to the toe.
Please note that hitting the ball regularly in the desired area will enhance the sweet spot. If you have a bat with a high sweet spot you need to be hitting the ball high on the blade regularly to get the best out of the bat.
In general we recommend a sweet spot in the normal position, but if you have a preference for a particular position then we can make the bat to your specifications.
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Good find Andy, would certainly aid alot of people when they are choosing a bat.
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Great find norbair thanks for that.
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Lovely profile there Chris.