Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Contrails on February 01, 2016, 09:11:38 PM
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Hello everyone,
I know this is probably an old topic 'Indian made GM bats' but I thought I would try to get more info on this subject. From what I have found out so far is that GM does make bats in India but these are of Kashmir willow and or of lower grade. Fair enough.
But on a recent trip to India while visiting Champion sports in Metro, Mumbai (One of India's famous sports shops) I came across a GM F2 Zona Excalibur bat. It was bang straight 10 grains front and back, descent edges, flat face and very little bow. Easily met the looks of a Grade 1 willow. Had GM tags and grip but no DXM markings on the side but had the English flags on the shoulders. I am guessing these bats are handmade. But the pick up was absolutely stunning. My younger cousin who accompanied me has played some descent rep cricket in India and he loved the bat too. The bat weight 1210g, I am guessing about 2lbs 10oz. I looked at about 20+ bats, from 2.07 till 3lb sleepers, this bat just felt spot on. It was being sold for Rp 16,000 after a 30% discount - haha gotta love discounts in India. Unfortunately, because it was Indian made and I was always under the impression that the top GM bats are made in UK, I did not get this bat.
So, anyone used these bats before? I am still curious about these bats.
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GM bats for the Indian market are made under license in India, this is across all grades to my knowledge. An Indian made GM won't carry DXM labelling as it hasn't been made using the DXM process
GM bats for the UK, Aus, SA, NZ and other markets away from the subcontinent are made using the DXM process in Nottingham
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GM bats made for the Indian market are Indian made
GM bats for everywhere else are uk made
Edit - Damn Vitas got there first!
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I have had a couple of gm bats from India and the both have been very good and the willow was very good quality.the only thing with these bats they are designed for the Indian market and not the uk and the quality does show the uk made ones are very well made the Indian ones I had have both had very thin handles and pressed soft so took a fair bit of time to knock in
A couple of pictures of the ones I was looking at
(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r659/Simonalfie5/image_zpsddlbsjos.jpeg) (http://s1360.photobucket.com/user/Simonalfie5/media/image_zpsddlbsjos.jpeg.html)(http://i1360.photobucket.com/albums/r659/Simonalfie5/image_zpsblggw9pb.jpeg) (http://s1360.photobucket.com/user/Simonalfie5/media/image_zpsblggw9pb.jpeg.html)
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Oh, so the Indian ones probably lack in the hand quality then?
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Oh, so the Indian ones probably lack in the hand quality then?
The U.K. Made ones are all done on cnc machine and all the bats are then hand polished then have the gm toe guard and scuff sheet and the new fully imbossed stickers the Indian ones I had did not have any embossed stickers all in all I like the uk made ones the pressing has got so much better than before they use to be rock hard and took two years to open up
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The indian range hierarchy is Players, Excalibur, cosmic & then the 909s,808s ....
All Indian GMs are only F2s in my knowledge & we don't even have the complete range - only Six6,octane,purist,argon,zona,mogul & maybe 1 or 2 more from the previous ranges. Most importantly - the shapes across all the models from every range is exactly the same. Embarrassing almost [emoji19][emoji19]
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I purchase a cheap 909 Octane (Indian Made), the willow look stunning heaps of ruler straight grains, which you certainly would not get from a 909 Uk made. I was hopeful (foolish) that it would be the same shape as a UK made Octane which has always been a shape I like. It could not be further away from the shape if you were trying.
Mine you, not a bad bat, in fact quite good and certainly for the amount I paid for it, but nowhere close to a UK made. It was heavily concaved with a round handle, think a SS with GMs stickers and your pretty close to what they are like.
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Cool thanks for all the info.
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I bought 2 GMs in India and a GM here in Melboure.
Quality of the AUST made far superior.
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I bought 2 GMs in India and a GM here in Melboure.
Quality of the AUST made far superior.
I don't think GM and made in Aus, only UK and under license in India. GN yes but not GM
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It was heavily concaved with a round handle, think a SS with GMs stickers and your pretty close to what they are like.
More likely to be out of the BAS factory ;)
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DSC does the manufacturing job-work for GM & a few other lesser known brands.
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You can buy the Indian ones from sportsdirect as select or select plus I see.
http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-apex-select-cricket-bat-851185?colcode=85118590
http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-purist-select-plus-cricket-bat-851188?colcode=85118890
Most of you live in the uk so go and have a look.
With a majority of bats made in India it is strange to say they are for the indian market if sold in the UK also. Isn't it more reasonable to say they are just made there because they have cheaper labor? Every price point has a market.
For a casual novice who plays a social match once a year why not? I hire golf clubs just to have a hit. They were garbage and so will these bats be planks, probably, but for a social game for someone testing the waters why not?
Bangladesh bloke at my club uses a kashmir something with a cloth wrap. Still makes runs and hit a six. Only ever played street cricket.
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Bangladesh bloke at my club uses a kashmir something with a cloth wrap. Still makes runs and hit a six.
Quite like this! My old man has had a 3lb Kashmir willow for the past 4 seasons and has racked up over 1500 runs with it. For him its the best spent £20.
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I don't know who makes GM India bats, but they are definitely a good value for money. A friend of mine purchased a GM Zona 505 bat for me and Mogul F2 707 bat for him. I use the 505 as a practice bat and he uses 808 as match bat for T20 games. I have used both and noticed no vibrations on the handle. Ping on the 505 is not so good but definitely worthy practice bat. I still use it for practice, since my team buys cheaper priced balls in bulk quantity from Pakistan. 50% off of them turns out to be of poor quality and some of them end up being bat breakers ...
I will post pictures once i get home tonight.
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You can buy the Indian ones from sportsdirect as select or select plus I see.
[url]http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-apex-select-cricket-bat-851185?colcode=85118590[/url] ([url]http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-apex-select-cricket-bat-851185?colcode=85118590[/url])
[url]http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-purist-select-plus-cricket-bat-851188?colcode=85118890[/url] ([url]http://www.sportsdirect.com/gunn-and-moore-purist-select-plus-cricket-bat-851188?colcode=85118890[/url])
Most of you live in the uk so go and have a look.
With a majority of bats made in India it is strange to say they are for the indian market if sold in the UK also. Isn't it more reasonable to say they are just made there because they have cheaper labor? Every price point has a market.
For a casual novice who plays a social match once a year why not? I hire golf clubs just to have a hit. They were garbage and so will these bats be planks, probably, but for a social game for someone testing the waters why not?
Bangladesh bloke at my club uses a kashmir something with a cloth wrap. Still makes runs and hit a six. Only ever played street cricket.
They are not supposed to be sold anywhere outside India, GM here try to be vigilant in stamping it out but you can't help rogues on ebay or backyard sellers trying to make a buck.
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They are not supposed to be sold anywhere outside India, GM here try to be vigilant in stamping it out but you can't help rogues on ebay or backyard sellers trying to make a buck.
Skip, i have no exposure to the ebay stuff here in Australia, but the sportsdirect ones are available here. Ive seen Mogul Player bats on prodirect before Christmas too. Couldn't possibly be uk made for the price.
I am sceptical they would be made differently to the ones intended for the local market. Bat quality, production standards materials and durability would be inferior to uk made one, no doubt, but I find the whole made for market stuff sounds like marketing.
Most bats are made there. The workmanship, glues and some other parts would be identical for the cheap stuff. Bloke in the indian factory doesn't know who each bat is made for? Grading would be done on completion and then the stickers applied.
Really, for a bloke with no cricket experience playing a casual game or a no 11 bunny would it make a difference? Particularly as they probably are using those terrible slazenger rocks.
I realise we want to protect our sponsors, but the people buying these SD bats are not researching willow, care about bat making, preparing the bat or reading this forum.
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Here are the pictures ...
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm174/saravdsrc/IMG_1204_zpsfvdijln8.jpg)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm174/saravdsrc/IMG_1213_zpsekdnuibn.jpg)
(http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm174/saravdsrc/IMG_1211_zpsmuglr4vt.jpg)
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Skip, i have no exposure to the ebay stuff here in Australia, but the sportsdirect ones are available here. Ive seen Mogul Player bats on prodirect before Christmas too. Couldn't possibly be uk made for the price.
I am sceptical they would be made differently to the ones intended for the local market. Bat quality, production standards materials and durability would be inferior to uk made one, no doubt, but I find the whole made for market stuff sounds like marketing.
Most bats are made there. The workmanship, glues and some other parts would be identical for the cheap stuff. Bloke in the indian factory doesn't know who each bat is made for? Grading would be done on completion and then the stickers applied.
Really, for a bloke with no cricket experience playing a casual game or a no 11 bunny would it make a difference? Particularly as they probably are using those terrible slazenger rocks.
I realise we want to protect our sponsors, but the people buying these SD bats are not researching willow, care about bat making, preparing the bat or reading this forum.
I should of looked at those links first, they are both kashmirs, all of those are Indian made. I can't believe GM would allow Indian made English willow bats to be sold legitimately in the UK. I agree with what your saying but people are buying these bats thinking they are genuine GM bats thinking they are getting super deals.
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I don't think GM and made in Aus, only UK and under license in India. GN yes but not GM
Yeah I meant Aust purchased made in England.
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Most bats are made there. The workmanship, glues and some other parts would be identical for the cheap stuff. Bloke in the indian factory doesn't know who each bat is made for? Grading would be done on completion and then the stickers applied.
That's interesting because the F2 zona I saw in Mumbai was different to the usual sub-continent profile/shape. It had a flatter face and less bow than the usual curve of the sub-continent bats. So even if these bats get made in the same factory as SS/BAS/SG, their profile seems to be quite different.
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I'm pretty sure the SD only models are Uk made, I'm sure @Perkins17 could confirm.
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All Kashmir bats (from sports direct or Sports indirect or ones to be sold in India) are made in India- different labels for different places. Much like Kookaburra Bats - made in same place and everything - just different stickers and sent to different places.
I'm pretty sure the SD only ENGLISH models are Uk made, I'm sure @Perkins17 could confirm.
Yes, thats absolutely correct.
Sports Direct PRO/Player models are lower grade English Willow bats made in UK. Hard pressed so feel very dead and take a long time to come alive! DONT BUY THESE! lol
>> Bat quality, production standards materials and durability would be inferior to uk made one
Not at all but there are other things to consider...
DSC make all the GM bats in India - these bats are top quality and have similar components (I have a feeling handles etc might be exact same ones in both places and might be shaped differently in both places- GM india have thinner handles). Brands for glue might be different. They use brand called FEVICOL in India which is the top quality PVA glue available there.
GM made in India are softer/pingy bats - Not saying soft press is more pingy - what I mean is they are very much like SS bats. All bats models have similar shapes though (PURIST are same shape as an ICON). Excellent sticks- like SS bats I have never seen a bad GM made in india.
Being softer they might have instant performance and shorter lives than GM UK bats (Up untill last year GM UK were harder pressed and took more time to open but that has changed so not sure if it holds true anymore)
GM UK use a different kind of wax to buff in the end and so have a better finish than GM Indian ones. The UK ones feel like a layer of wax on top of the bat surface whereas the GM india ones are normal.
>>Grading would be done on completion and then the stickers applied.
Not true at all. Their grading is very honest- I am guessing they are going exactly by JS Wrights rating - similar to Kookaburra/SG/SS where you can see great grains in even lower grades. In another thread last year I posted pictures of GM India 404s and 505s with a lot of straight grains.
Personally, I feel gray Nicolls do the worst grading - be it UK, Aus or India where they make almost all of these. Some of the Grade 1s or Players bats Gray Nicolls sell are unbelievable.
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I'm pretty sure the SD only models are Uk made, I'm sure @Perkins17 could confirm.
So I will try and clear a few things up as much as I can.
The UK, all of Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and America get all English Willow bats made here in the Nottingham factory as well as a number to high end Indian retailers.
The Indian made GM bats will bare stickers saying 'made in India under licence' as well as no English flags nor will it have GM now and ToeTek. Now I don't want to say exactly where they are made but they are of a high standard and as far as I've seen the bats don't have the same GM profiles the UK made DXM bats have. These bats are meant for the Indian market only but I have seen myself people in England and Australia trying to sell them as the UK made bat but I suppose that's just some people trying to make a quick buck!
We also have kashmir bats that are made in India such as the ones in SD named 'Select' as well as some of the cricket sets with bats in.
SD are a different case as they have their own ranges such as the Zone and Apex these are made in the UK and will be grades 303,404 and 606 they will bare another name but are easily identifiable in person. Pro direct had some mogul players bats in the same vain as the SD bats where it is a different grade label to the normal range. Some Australian retailers had similar bats where instead of Limited edition they had Custom Edition.
I'm trying this on my phone so I hope I covered everything if not then just ask and I'll try and reply.
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That's interesting because the F2 zona I saw in Mumbai was different to the usual sub-continent profile/shape. It had a flatter face and less bow than the usual curve of the sub-continent bats. So even if these bats get made in the same factory as SS/BAS/SG, their profile seems to be quite different.
My friend showed me three Zona 505 bats like the one in above picture and each one of them had a different shape/profile. So i guess they just make a batch of low end bats on order and start sticking stickers on them.
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All Kashmir bats (from sports direct or Sports indirect or ones to be sold in India) are made in India- different labels for different places. Much like Kookaburra Bats - made in same place and everything - just different stickers and sent to different places.
Yes, thats absolutely correct.
Sports Direct PRO/Player models are lower grade English Willow bats made in UK. Hard pressed so feel very dead and take a long time to come alive! DONT BUY THESE! lol
>> Bat quality, production standards materials and durability would be inferior to uk made one
Not at all but there are other things to consider...
DSC make all the GM bats in India - these bats are top quality and have similar components (I have a feeling handles etc might be exact same ones in both places and might be shaped differently in both places- GM india have thinner handles). Brands for glue might be different. They use brand called FEVICOL in India which is the top quality PVA glue available there.
GM made in India are softer/pingy bats - Not saying soft press is more pingy - what I mean is they are very much like SS bats. All bats models have similar shapes though (PURIST are same shape as an ICON). Excellent sticks- like SS bats I have never seen a bad GM made in india.
Being softer they might have instant performance and shorter lives than GM UK bats (Up untill last year GM UK were harder pressed and took more time to open but that has changed so not sure if it holds true anymore)
GM UK use a different kind of wax to buff in the end and so have a better finish than GM Indian ones. The UK ones feel like a layer of wax on top of the bat surface whereas the GM india ones are normal.
>>Grading would be done on completion and then the stickers applied.
Not true at all. Their grading is very honest- I am guessing they are going exactly by JS Wrights rating - similar to Kookaburra/SG/SS where you can see great grains in even lower grades. In another thread last year I posted pictures of GM India 404s and 505s with a lot of straight grains.
Personally, I feel gray Nicolls do the worst grading - be it UK, Aus or India where they make almost all of these. Some of the Grade 1s or Players bats Gray Nicolls sell are unbelievable.
Excellent information. Many thanks IQ. Really appreciate you clarifying this.
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So I will try and clear a few things up as much as I can.
The UK, all of Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and America get all English Willow bats made here in the Nottingham factory as well as a number to high end Indian retailers.
The Indian made GM bats will bare stickers saying 'made in India under licence' as well as no English flags nor will it have GM now and ToeTek. Now I don't want to say exactly where they are made but they are of a high standard and as far as I've seen the bats don't have the same GM profiles the UK made DXM bats have. These bats are meant for the Indian market only but I have seen myself people in England and Australia trying to sell them as the UK made bat but I suppose that's just some people trying to make a quick buck!
We also have kashmir bats that are made in India such as the ones in SD named 'Select' as well as some of the cricket sets with bats in.
SD are a different case as they have their own ranges such as the Zone and Apex these are made in the UK and will be grades 303,404 and 606 they will bare another name but are easily identifiable in person. Pro direct had some mogul players bats in the same vain as the SD bats where it is a different grade label to the normal range. Some Australian retailers had similar bats where instead of Limited edition they had Custom Edition.
I'm trying this on my phone so I hope I covered everything if not then just ask and I'll try and reply.
Sent from my HUAWEI GRA-L09 using Tapatalk
Excellent answers to all the questions. Many thanks Perkins17.
I love it when we get the facts straight. I'll point people to this thread in the future.
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My friend showed me three Zona 505 bats like the one in above picture and each one of them had a different shape/profile. So i guess they just make a batch of low end bats on order and start sticking stickers on them.
Sounds like bats from different seasons. If you have pictures I can tell you which ones are newer ones.