Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: dilscoop on July 09, 2014, 03:40:37 PM
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Just a topic I'd like to start after watching jason from cricket store online video on this
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This is hard question to answer as many people have their own preferences on what they like in a bat. For example someone might love GM's but other people complain that they are hard and wouldn't touch them. Personally I've never owned a screaming cat but would love to try one as many people say they are some of the best bats in the world
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Those made by legendary podshavers that have passed on and that it is impossible to get hold of and can only be held in the glory of hindsight!
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Those made by legendary podshavers that have passed on and that it is impossible to get hold of and can only be held in the glory of hindsight!
Annoys that Julian millichamp is having a break
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It's a well known fact that all the bats I own are the best in the world! ;)
In terms of brand, right now it is probably Laver as Julian is off on his holidays
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It's a well known fact that all the bats I own are the best in the world! ;)
In terms of brand, right now it is probably Laver as Julian is off on his holidays
He's been on his holidays since March
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It's simple...for me the best bats are the ones that I like.And i believe it's the same for everyone.
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If I had to think of specific bats, rather than brands in general, I would assume given the price they charge something like the Laver Signature, that Newbury that was in a similar price range (Cenkos i think, if they still make it) and maybe the GN Legend GOLD. Haven't used any of these, so I can only hope they are something truly special at that price range.
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Kicking Horse - but very few mortals will ever see one.
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Let's be brutally honest;
Julian Millichamp
Tim Keeley
James Laver
Andrew Kember
John Gasson
One of them, plus one or two others in the Asian sub-continent would have made it if its the worlds best....
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But don't a lot of pro's prefer Asian bats nowadays?
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Like to think our bats are up there some of the best players in the world use them maybe with different Lables but got to say quite a number of proffesionals like our bats.
The name you mention make or did make good bats indeed and there a few others
Nick Nixon is massively underrated
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Like to think our bats are up there some of the best players in the world use them maybe with different Lables but got to say quite a number of proffesionals like our bats.
The name you mention make or did make good bats indeed and there a few others
Nick Nixon is massively underrated
Dave, you will always be number 1 in my eyes.
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Also forgot to add
Aslam Chaudry
I agree Asian bats are right up there no doubting that.
All very subjective we can whingle names from anywhere but half the people have not had longevity with said maker.
Stu krahnzbuhler is another half the Indian side use his without you knowing .
Some mention a simple shaper of a cleft not even a batmaker.
Plus just because you see a stamp do not assume it always that brand
Not many make bad bats or there would be nobody buying
Them
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Such a subjective question
For me GM for their heritage and the fact they spent a fortune on R&D for their DXM system.
Also on the list of decent bats (I'd love to own):
Jullian Millichamp
TK (although I've owned a couple)
B3
Aldred
Hunts
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Surprised not to see Rob Pack here considering his history with kooka, puma and his own brand
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Laver and wood (ordered a special reserve, can't wait to receive it)
Jullian Millichamp
Affinity carbine (a club mate has it...amazing)
H4L (never heard anything bad abt them)
Blank Bats (only positives about their bats)
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andrew kember
Tim keeley
do one of these make uzi sports pro bats ?
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Chris King makes a decent bat...
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Let's be brutally honest;
Julian Millichamp
Tim Keeley
James Laver
Andrew Kember
John Gasson
One of them, plus one or two others in the Asian sub-continent would have made it if its the worlds best....
I currently have SCAT Pro Series 1 and a NB SPS Tour. Honestly, I prefer Tour for the sweet connect the blade has compared to SCAT. May be Tim is on par with Julian in my humble opinion.
Thanks,
Jay
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It really depends on individuals, but this is my list (not in any particular order):
H4L (Hattori)
B3 (Bespoke)
Affinity (toro or spectre)
BB (b20)
Newbery (GT and TT)
Screaming cat (series 5)
I wanted to include L&W, but I have heard mix reviews about them.
I personally own two out of these 6, only 4 more to go :)
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Charlie French. Charlie is a very underrated traditional batmaker especially on this forum. Bloke even makes his own handles.
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Chris King makes a decent bat...
Couldn't agree more. Mine by him is frankly amazing.
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not sure how many people even know who he is!
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Surprised not to see Rob Pack here considering his history with kooka, puma and his own brand
Excuse my ignorance - what is the Rob Pack link with Kook and Puma?
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It seems that Laver & Wood is rated highly yet there are too many of them in the sale section. Is it down to the fact there are too many L&W's around or are people not able to get the performance out of them ?.
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not sure how many people even know who he is!
Perhaps you should enlighten these poor unfortunates who are wallowing in the fetid filth of their own ignorance - and stop being such a clever-dicky! :D
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not sure how many people even know who he is!
I haven't a clue who Chris King is. Did he have a hit with 'Love and Pride' is the 80's?
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Excuse my ignorance - what is the Rob Pack link with Kook and Puma?
Erm, he used to make bats for them? He served his apprentice at County under Bernie Facer - as did Charlie French, I believe.
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Charlie French. Charlie is a very underrated traditional batmaker especially on this forum. Bloke even makes his own handles.
Given his brother's links with the England set up, you'd think you'd be at least the odd rumour...
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Excuse my ignorance - what is the Rob Pack link with Kook and Puma?
Pieman, Rob used to make bats for Kooka before Kooka went to India, Then he used to make bats for Puma, even after Puma went to India Rob would still make top end Puma bats in UK till about a year or so ago (If you find a relatively new Puma with Made in England sticker on the handle it would most likely be made by Rob). He also has his own brand, Blueroom/RP Custom, which I have used and are excellent bats.
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Thought Julian millichamp just shaped bats now on imported Asian pressed clefts
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If there was a brand/maker who made the best bats, all the shops would only stock that, and that would be the only thing purchased by anyone. Every brand/maker makes good bats (or at least most do) and certainly every brand makes the odd dud too.
Wood is natural product, there is no definitive 'best bat' like you can say when looking at a hockey stick or a tennis racket.
Thats what makes is so much fun, this adventure we are all on to find and cherish the perfect bat for us, not for anyone else, my best bat might be firewood to someone else.
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If there was a brand/maker who made the best bats, all the shops would only stock that, and that would be the only thing purchased by anyone. Every brand/maker makes good bats (or at least most do) and certainly every brand makes the odd dud too.
Wood is natural product, there is no definitive 'best bat' like you can say when looking at a hockey stick or a tennis racket.
Thats what makes is so much fun, this adventure we are all on to find and cherish the perfect bat for us, not for anyone else, my best bat might be firewood to someone else.
I agree and disagree at the same time, I agree that every brand is capable of making atleast a few bats that you could term as best in the world in their life time. I disagree with the fact that if there was a best bat then every store would stock it and everyone would only buy that because as we know with being the best comes a hefty price tag which not everyone can afford, hence the reason some of the brands offering only cheap/low grade bats exist.
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If there was a brand/maker who made the best bats, all the shops would only stock that, and that would be the only thing purchased by anyone. Every brand/maker makes good bats (or at least most do) and certainly every brand makes the odd dud too.
Wood is natural product, there is no definitive 'best bat' like you can say when looking at a hockey stick or a tennis racket.
Thats what makes is so much fun, this adventure we are all on to find and cherish the perfect bat for us, not for anyone else, my best bat might be firewood to someone else.
Amen
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I agree with Jake that it's unpredictable due to the fact that cricket bats are made of wood (a natural product) and it's impossible to say that a specific maker's bats perform the best.
Since most replies talk about the makers, the question should be who makes the best bat in terms of pick up, balance, sweet spot positioning, size of the middle, pressing precision, handle fitting and the over all finishing of the finished bat as these are the things that show their real craft. In fact you can also throw in their customer service.
To level the playing field we'd say each maker is making a bat from a low density grainy grade 1 willow sourced from the same supplier.
So based on the above who do you think makes the best bats.
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It seems that Laver & Wood is rated highly yet there are too many of them in the sale section. Is it down to the fact there are too many L&W's around or are people not able to get the performance out of them ?.
Never ever had or seen a bad Laver. Go from day one and look amazing.
Such a hard question when you see some of the runs players are churning out with different brands. Each to their own but I think all the brands mentioned so far would make a damn good bat for you.
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I agree and disagree at the same time, I agree that every brand is capable of making atleast a few bats that you could term as best in the world in their life time. I disagree with the fact that if there was a best bat then every store would stock it and everyone would only buy that because as we know with being the best comes a hefty price tag which not everyone can afford, hence the reason some of the brands offering only cheap/low grade bats exist.
Am with you on this bro. What you said is absolutely true! If everybody can afford the best bats money can buy why would there be so many brands and ranges.
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Interesting best brand/batmakers JM TK JL AK JG most if not all worked for gray nics.
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I am surprised Tim Keeley brother Nick has not been mentioned he makes a very nice bat :)
As does another member of the Salix family...
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in my opinion, i believe Andrew Kember is the best !!!
Going to try the pod finite, probably the best bat on the market in the £400 mark.
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Interesting best brand/batmakers JM TK JL AK JG most if not all worked for gray nics.
Julian Millichamp worked for Gray Nics?
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The best bats in the world are the ones that YOU score runs with.
A good batmaker will extract the maximum amount of performance form any piece of willow they make a bat from but its down to the end user to use this effectively.
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English willow bats, Kashmir and aus willow just can't compete.....
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English willow bats, Kashmir and aus willow just can't compete.....
You have used Aus willow bat? ;)
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Thought Julian millichamp just shaped bats now on imported Asian pressed clefts
Julian bought the Stuart Surridge presses and set them up in a factory in India. He selects his willow from JS Wrights and sends it to India to be pressed and handled by the people he has trained and manages. The handled clefts are then sent to him to finish off to the clients specs in his workshop. He has complete control over the whole process.
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You have used Aus willow bat? ;)
I believe so, when I visited my family in Victoria, I played a friendly for my cousins club forest hill. The bat most suited to my weight was a ugly looking fisher. It did not perform well.
I don't think I've actually used Kashmir though.
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Julian bought the Stuart Surridge presses and set them up in a factory in India. He selects his willow from JS Wrights and sends it to India to be pressed and handled by the people he has trained and manages. The handled clefts are then sent to him to finish off to the clients specs in his workshop. He has complete control over the whole process.
Crumbs! Is employing people in the UK really such an unattractive proposition?
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Quite simply - Yes.
Wage rates, working hours and red tape are very restrictive in the UK for small production outfits.
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Aus too Ginger...
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Quite simply - Yes.
Wage rates, working hours and red tape are very restrictive in the UK for small production outfits.
Exploitative work practices are not something to be proud of.
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Exploitative work practices are not something to be proud of.
Maybe not to the ones of us with a fully working moral compass...
Unfortunately, having a moral compass does not always pay the bills.
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These men earn Rs 200 a day, making bats for international cricket (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCbkyXeyDrY#)
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Maybe not to the ones of us with a fully working moral compass...
Unfortunately, having a moral compass does not always pay the bills.
Which is why we need employment law?
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Exploitative work practices are not something to be proud of.
Do you define exploitative as paying the average or above average wage for the locality, which is still cheaper than UK costs?
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Do you define exploitative as paying the average or above average wage for the locality, which is still cheaper than UK costs?
Yes, if those people are living in poverty.
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The minimum wage in the UK is £6.31 per hour!
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Which is why we need employment law?
I think you are completely misunderstanding what I am saying.
Julian has taken his production to India for several reasons - but the main one is probably profit margin.
Certain countries (China, India etc) are exploited by companies for their cheap manufacturing (most likely due to the relative cost compared to the domestic market). Relaxed views on employment law and lack of social welfare ultimately puts the power in the hands of the companies in question to restrict pay and drive up production through the 'stick' approach.
You either work or you do not eat. Simple. You, like some, cannot just go and sign on then go home and watch Jeremy Kyle all day (I know this is a 'benefit street' stereotype - I know it is at the extreme end of people who claim benefits and some claim benefits for completely valid reasons).
This is the world we live in - rightly or wrongly. The standard of living, and thus wage rates, is rising in these countries but do their respective governments really want that to happen because it means less money coming in through trade (Balance of payments) - I can tell you for a fact, they do not.
Its a vicious circle and would be wrong not to mention it in a discussion about why production would move to India and not the UK or Australia.
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Only bats I genuinely feared as a bowler,,was the grade one ace bats.
If a batter walked out with one of those, I knew two things,, he had excellent taste in bats and if he got bat on ball,it was going miles!
I had a grade two ,that was probably one of the best bats I've ever had.
I suppose my laver is the nearest, in terms of runs/seasons used
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You either work or you do not eat. Simple. You, like some, cannot just go and sign on then go home and watch Jeremy Kyle all day
Oh, please! Are you for real?
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Oh, please! Are you for real?
Absolutely. It was a tongue in cheek comment about the extreme state of affairs in two conflicting cultures.