Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: JK Lewis on February 19, 2017, 10:56:34 PM
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I grew up in West London, in the 80s - those simpler times before the internet. Around this time of year we would put aside our footballs and turn our thoughts to cricket. Back then, there was literally only one place for us to find out what was available, and what was new. Every spring, without fail, a group of us would get on the Tube to Ealing Broadway, walk down Bond Street and into Vee Kay Sports. The best cricket shop in the world as far as I'm concerned, a perfect combination of big name bats and top quality, well priced, own brand kit. It's true that the internet now gives me more choice, but I sometimes think I'd trade it for a chance to spend an afternoon with my mates in that famous basement. Any similar memories out there?
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For me it was my once a year pilgrimage 80 mile round bus trip to newhay and romida
I went every year sometimes I came away empty handed if it had been a bad year for my mum money wise by I remember the time I went hopeful of a Masuri helmet when helmets where still rare and I forgot the bus cost so I couldn't afford one so I ended up with a hunts county helmet which in truth was brilliant still.
Never bought a bat but I can remember saving for still the best pads in the world gray nicolls test opener man I saved for nearly a year for them bad boys.
Growing up I never had first hand bats but never moaned I used to get Glen Chapple hand me down Ace and Senior Counties
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Used to be spoilt for choice when I first ventured out to sniff cricket bats.
Multisports in nelson and a couple of other local sports shops always had stunning bat selections.
They were nothing compared to my first visit to Romida tho!
I must have gone through every box of bats in that tardis like shop
I once spent an afternoon going through their vast selection of gloves
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As with most Scottish clubs we used to get a minibus or convoy down to Sportscraft a few saturdays before the season started, sadly now long gone.
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Always used to be a trip to Holt & Haskell along Shirley High Street (for those unfamiliar, its a "lovely" area of Southampton)
Not the biggest shop in the world, but got my first bat in there, and my Dad used to drive there once a year for me to get my new purchase for the season (usually just a new pair of gloves, or some pads if I was feeling extravagant!). We made our annual trip in early December one year, instead of the usual March/April trip and I got a Woodworm Satellite as a Christmas present that year.
The most expensive thing I bough for myself being an Albion Club helmet, and I'd saved my Xmas and Birthday money to buy myself that. Those were the days...
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My yearly pilgrimage a 50 mile round trip to the Edgebaston club
shop as no one else close to Stourbridge sold cricket kit back then they were also the only ones to stock the England kit also most of the stuff in there was top end with top end prices.
I brought the GN test opener pads from there when they first came out I remember they cost me £85.00.
Also spotted one of the first GN pro performance bat s in there when I tested the ping in the shop it was so good I brought it and cancelled my pre season handmade new bat order from Robertsbridge
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For me and my brothers it was a 52 mile round trip to Sportscraft in Penrith but since Dickie Spruce closed up shop in 2013 the next closest is probably Barringtons which is 280 mile round trip or Lorimer's which is 160!
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I used to go to Lords for easter coaching and spent my lunch break in the shop. It was always far too expensive!
Having Romida leatherhead 15 mins in one direction and Fordham and Colts 15mins in the other means I am very spoiled for choice.
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For me and my brothers it was a 52 mile round trip to Sportscraft in Penrith but since Dickie Spruce closed up shop in 2013 the next closest is probably Barringtons which is 280 mile round trip or Lorimer's which is 160!
I got some great Bats at Dickie's got a Biggest Kahuna there years ago which I've still got somewhere, was a beast, probably the best pinging bat I've owned (from a "big" brand anyways)
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I used to get the bus into Gillingham from Strood, and visit 'Hubble & Ames' (Jack Hubble & Les Ames - both ex-Kent keepers); bought my DF GT 1000 and later a DF Magnum from there. I small shop I seem to remember with tons of bats along the wall and at eye level with an upstairs that sold hockey gear if I remember (although it was many many years ago!).
Carefree days; jumpers for goalposts, chalk stumps on the wall etc. etc....... ;)
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Was that the shop that preceded Hubble and Freeman @IWTUK
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Was that the shop that preceded Hubble and Freeman @IWTUK
It was a while back Tom, I may have the names mixed-up; I thought Hubble & Ames was in Gillingham and Hubble & Freeman was in Maidstone but I may have them the wrong way around; I'm going back to around 1980 for the Magnum, so age is not my friend when it comes to memory!
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Hubble and Freeman is Maidstone but wasn't aware of Hubble and Ames just wondered if they were related at all
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There used to a sports shop in the village i gew up in (New Ash Green in North Kent) called Pro Sport where i got all of my sporting gear from. Remember saving up some birthday money for a poly armoured GN scoop from there. I remember when someone moved to the village and did a bulk order from Morrant which was a lot of hassle!
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Hubble and Freeman is Maidstone but wasn't aware of Hubble and Ames just wondered if they were related at all
Jack Hubble is the same guy Tom, but one shop was with Titch Freeman, and the other, Les Ames. I moved away in the mid 80's so no idea if the one in Gillingham is still going. Happy days though!
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Fortunately in Norwich about 6/7 years ago we had Barnard sports or Pilch, used to go in and swing the bats around, pester my old man to buy me something. Mr Barnard passed away and the shop closed so now all we have is the over priced Pilch.
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Twas Martin Berrill in Gloucester if you were just after solid quality gear, and he had a signed photo of NMK Smith throwing up on the pitch in the 96 World Cup.
Or 3D Sports in Cheltenham if you were a bit cool.
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My yearly pilgrimage a 50 mile round trip to the Edgebaston club
shop as no one else close to Stourbridge sold cricket kit back then they were also the only ones to stock the England kit also most of the stuff in there was top end with top end prices.
I brought the GN test opener pads from there when they first came out I remember they cost me £85.00.
Also spotted one of the first GN pro performance bat s in there when I tested the ping in the shop it was so good i cancelled my pre season handmade new bat order from Robertsbridge
Gutted when I closed it, they had some top class kit in there. Considering Birmingham is such a big city there is a distinct lack of choice within an hours drive.
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Used to go and see Bernie Facer in his shed in Buckden, the club always had Baronets as club bats as he pressed them so hard they never ever broke.
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Boundary Sports on Pershore Rd (I think) in Birmingham
I still have a pair of white shell suit batting bottoms that were once all the rage!!!
The place was an Aladins Cave of all things cricket
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Boundary Sports on Pershore Rd (I think) in Birmingham
I still have a pair of white shell suit batting bottoms that were once all the rage!!!
The place was an Aladins Cave of all things cricket
It still is in station Rd the problem is you have to park in the street and there's never no spaces
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Used to go and see Bernie Facer in his shed in Buckden, the club always had Baronets as club bats as he pressed them so hard they never ever broke.
Your right about Bernies bats never breaking he was also the guy behind the early Hawk bats.
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Omg... i used to hope and pray my best mates dad wanted to go to Romida at Brighouse, we even had a car crash which I'm sure was on the way there one year... having said that the best bat i ever bought was a Salix from Intersport in Scunthorpe... we used to go in there and look at the gear and this bat was on show out of reach above the stairs that went down from the second floor to the first... it was almost like.... I'm up here because I'm literally too expensive for anyone to buy me... and i just got lucky and walked into that shop the second after they had put it on sale with my pay check (brown envelope of cash... who remembers those) burning a hole in my pocket... oh i loved that shop.
@RF.... we must have gone in there together dozens of times as kids!!!!
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The Just Sport in Durham was my haunt, nice collection of kit. It was nothing like the jumble sale that the Newcastle shop now represents
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Boundary Sports on Pershore Rd (I think) in Birmingham
I still have a pair of white shell suit batting bottoms that were once all the rage!!!
The place was an Aladins Cave of all things cricket
Still there and a ten minute drive from my house.
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It was Tench Sports in Middleton or Sportscraft in Penrith for me, both were great shops.
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Your right about Bernies bats never breaking he was also the guy behind the early Hawk bats.
Yeah, they were pressed to within an inch of their life too. One of the guys at the club got an early Hawk and it was an absolute shocker for a G1 bat, put me off them for life
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I used to get the bus into Gillingham from Strood, and visit 'Hubble & Ames' (Jack Hubble & Les Ames - both ex-Kent keepers); bought my DF GT 1000 and later a DF Magnum from there. I small shop I seem to remember with tons of bats along the wall and at eye level with an upstairs that sold hockey gear if I remember (although it was many many years ago!).
Carefree days; jumpers for goalposts, chalk stumps on the wall etc. etc....... ;)
Do you ever remember there being a 10 ft gray nics scoop in the shop?
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Is that where it came from Matt? @hell4leather cricket
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Think so , a Hubble and freeman I reckon
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I want to know how they carried it upstairs in the old gillingham shop got my first ever bat from there
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Do you ever remember there being a 10 ft gray nics scoop in the shop?
Similar to this one we found in the depths of your workshop Matt? ;)
(http://i551.photobucket.com/albums/ii471/petehosk/H4L/VisitFeb2017/WallBats12_zpskfu7nvro.jpg)
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Gutted when I closed it, they had some top class kit in there. Considering Birmingham is such a big city there is a distinct lack of choice within an hours drive.
Dave I Didn't realised they had closed it was at Edgebaston this time last year as we reached the national indoor league semi finals i can see now why they were selling bits of kit from the indoor nets.
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Think so , a Hubble and freeman I reckon
Hi Matt,
I don't remember seeing it at H&A in Gillingham (as Simon said, there's no way it would have gone up the stairs!), but it may well have been in H&F in Maidstone. A thing of beauty though! :D
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Usually a pre season jaunt to Warsop or Centurion.
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got most of my kit from owzat until i found the forum but my first bat and most of my first set of kit was from a little shop in chesterfield - moss and miller - run by Ernie Moss (former footballer) and Geoff Miller, was a joint football and cricket shop cant say much about it or remember much about it to be honest
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I used to frequent Sportscraft, Penrith like a few before me. Could literally spend all day in there picking up every bat and waving it around and Dickie would not care if you bought anything or not (never happened once), as long as you had a craic with him about the game, great chap and a sad day when he retired and shut up shop.
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How many of these places are left? Or at least not shadows of their former selves.
In my example, Martin B seems to be plugging away as much as ever but 3D sports are gone, gone, gone
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How many of these places are left? Or at least not shadows of their former selves.
In my example, Martin B seems to be plugging away as much as ever but 3D sports are gone, gone, gone
Many are gone, sadly, but VKS remains! I should pay them a visit to take a trip further down memory lane.