Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Cin88 on May 25, 2015, 09:58:23 PM
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So i've finally decided to face the music and opt for a bat that's more fitting of my 5'6 height after 6 years of stubborn use of short handle bats that are just that little bit too big for me. Has anyone got any recommendations as far as harrow sized bats go? I have a Kookaburra Kahuna at the moment (new this year, already damaged it in the nets on its first proper use, to my annoyance), i'm trying to develop a more all round batting style in terms of front and back foot shots, i'm not sure whether to go for the junior version of the Kahuna, give my former captain a call and order from his new company or shop around a bit more.
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We can make one to your specs. Drop me a pm if you're interested
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I'd definitely use a custom like one from john at red ink so you can have a proper weight and decent specs with a full width face.
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Have to agree re getting one made. John made me one, overall an inch shorter, 2/3rds from the handle the rest from the blade. The benefit of course is that extra wood can go to where you need it. A Harrow is not a bad option but if you want anything over 2lb 5/6 then you start to struggle to find them.
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2lb 7 is my current bat's weight, I have seen harrows at 2lb 7 but that probably includes things like the grip and scuff sheets. I prefer light bats, although i'll go for a heavier weight if the pickup and balance are good enough. The problem i've got at the moment is that i'm beyond skint (unemployed soon to be graduate problems) so I can't afford to have a bat made for me :/
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Loads of Harrow options on the bay of e. You could get a bargain.
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Without wanting to be insulting to you or veer too wildly off topic, I once played a game for my Uni against an oppo who was a 'little person'. He used a size 4 bat if I recall correctly. He wore no lid though.
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2lb 7 is my current bat's weight, I have seen harrows at 2lb 7 but that probably includes things like the grip and scuff sheets. I prefer light bats, although i'll go for a heavier weight if the pickup and balance are good enough. The problem i've got at the moment is that i'm beyond skint (unemployed soon to be graduate problems) so I can't afford to have a bat made for me :/
I have a couple of lower grade bats with minor faults which will be for sale once I've finished them. They are custom ssh style so will be very similar in size to a Harrow but full width. Will be a bargain due to the faults so may be worth looking at them as an option
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Without wanting to be insulting to you or veer too wildly off topic, I once played a game for my Uni against an oppo who was a 'little person'. He used a size 4 bat if I recall correctly. He wore no lid though.
It'll take more than that to insult me :D It actually took some defying of medical science to get to the 5 foot 6 that I am, they said i'd never be taller than 4 foot 11 (ish). I've never actually used a junior bat against a proper ball, I didn't really start playing properly until I was 14 so I went straight for a short handle expecting to grow into it.
I'll probably take a look at Red Ink's lower grade bats if i'm still shopping by the time they're done.
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He was a genuine 'little person' though, he was only a couple of inches clear of the stumps!
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Well fair play to him, if you're good enough then I suppose it doesn't really matter what size you are. I bet he had one hell of a hook/pull shot.
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You may opt for Academy size, that size is bigger than harrow and smaller than full size men's.
For your kind of height that would be the most useful size.
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It'll take more than that to insult me :D It actually took some defying of medical science to get to the 5 foot 6 that I am, they said i'd never be taller than 4 foot 11 (ish). I've never actually used a junior bat against a proper ball, I didn't really start playing properly until I was 14 so I went straight for a short handle expecting to grow into it.
I'll probably take a look at Red Ink's lower grade bats if i'm still shopping by the time they're done.
Is your name Lionel Messi? ???
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If only, I wouldn't mind getting paid what he does though. I could get countless new bats every week on his wages.
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At your hieght you are okay to use an harrow but you need to think about the weight if you looking for around the same as your existing bat why not reduce your existing bat width by a 1/4 of an inch.
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To be honest I think it might just all be in my head, i've been using my current bat in the nets for the last 2 weeks and I don't really seem to have problems using it. I think the problem I was having was just down to technique and my somewhat odd stance (I crouch down quite a bit, especially if I use a trigger movement against quicker bowlers).
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I've come back to cricket last year and over the winter thought it would be at least worth an experiment to see if it made a difference. The charts on the internet indicated a ssh would be more fitting for my size so I had one made and eight away it felt better in my stance. Less bottom hand, no interference from the handle. It worked for me but I was lucky to be able to just try it out. Maybe see if you can borrow one to see what you think.
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I'm 5'4 and don't notice a difference between SH and SSH at all. My two favourite bats (GM Maxi and Red Ink custom) have both been SH, pick up and balance make more difference that SH v SSH in my experience.
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Yeah I was thinking that the other day when my former captain was doing yet another round of trying sell his new line of bats, there aren't a lot of people that use SSH which is the major problem with trying them out.
I actually really like the pick up/balance of my Kahuna, the dead weight made the difference for me though because I find the balance of the medium-heavy weighted Kahunas to be terrible compared to the lighter ones (they're a popular bat model at my club so i've had a lot of chances to pick them up and have a play around). Now that i'm used to it I actually find it easier to play with than my old bat, which had a terrible bottom heavy balance.
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Yeah I was thinking that the other day when my former captain was doing yet another round of trying sell his new line of bats, there aren't a lot of people that use SSH which is the major problem with trying them out.
I actually really like the pick up/balance of my Kahuna, the dead weight made the difference for me though because I find the balance of the medium-heavy weighted Kahunas to be terrible compared to the lighter ones (they're a popular bat model at my club so i've had a lot of chances to pick them up and have a play around). Now that i'm used to it I actually find it easier to play with than my old bat, which had a terrible bottom heavy balance.
I found pick-up of SSH to be heavier and more bottom-heavy than SH despite the SSH bats having a lighter dead weight, though it could have just been the particular bats I used.
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I found pick-up of SSH to be heavier and more bottom-heavy than SH despite the SSH bats having a lighter dead weight, though it could have just been the particular bats I used.
A bat made to be a ssh should pick up like any other bat, tis the shape that dictates it. a proper ssh has a shorter handle and a shorter blade so should be balanced accordingly. I have 2 ssh and a harrow that i don't think is a harrow and they all pick up great.
Having said that about the blade length being shorter there are loads of posts / youtube clips of batsman chopping the end off their handle. Saw it a few times watching the IPL. In a thread the other day didn't a chap get a long blade made at B3 and chopped the bottom inch off?
As with all of this stuff its all about how it feels, not what label it has.
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A bat made to be a ssh should pick up like any other bat, tis the shape that dictates it. a proper ssh has a shorter handle and a shorter blade so should be balanced accordingly. I have 2 ssh and a harrow that i don't think is a harrow and they all pick up great.
Having said that about the blade length being shorter there are loads of posts / youtube clips of batsman chopping the end off their handle. Saw it a few times watching the IPL. In a thread the other day didn't a chap get a long blade made at B3 and chopped the bottom inch off?
As with all of this stuff its all about how it feels, not what label it has.
As I said, it may have just been the particular SSH bats I had (both Kippax). They were indeed good bats but the pick up was heavier despite a lower dead weight.
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SSH Handle bats used to have an handle that was much thicker and shorter and were to big for my hands so I cut 1 inch of all my SH bats to help me keep my hands closer together on the handle it didn't affect the pick up.