Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: Sitonit on February 14, 2019, 02:54:35 PM
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I personally feel that a round handle naturally fits well in the human hand. The grip and hold is a lot more easy and comfortable. The bat is a lot easy and simple to maneuver with a round handle as per the anatomy of a human hand.
Many other players may find oval or semi oval handle better. Which is all good.
My question is, if I remember correctly, it used to be round handles only.
And the oval or semi oval came in as a marketing ploy in the name of innovation. Folks then slowly started to pick the idea.
The idea is, it helps stop the twist.
My argument is, if it helps stop the twist then it may also create some hindrance when you actually DO WANT to slightly twist the bat and get the right angle to play the intended stroke.
But also and more curiously, if the bat has a rubber grip and you are wearing gloves where the leathers in the palms provides some excellent traction, why would the bat twist so much in your hands that you need an oval handle?
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Have you seen a slo-mo of someone hitting a cricket ball? Anything off absolute dead centre causes a heck of a lot of rotation about the long axis of the bat even when you feel you've really middled it. So a grip and gloves definitely doesn't prevent this.
If you watch the last T20 between South Africa and Pakistan there's a great example of this.
Chris Morris dug out a yorker that hit the bottom corner of his bat, which actually spun 180 degrees in his hand.
As well as the rotation, the amount the bat "wobbles" in slow motion is something to behold (and something a lot of people will be unaware of!)
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Oval handles are design to stop you gripping to tight with your bottom hand have a personal dislike of them.
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Oval handles are design to stop you gripping to tight with your bottom hand have a personal dislike of them.
Yeah, I'm with you on this. Personally I prefer to grip harder with the top hand, looser with the bottom. My school coach always said the top hand was for control, the bottom hand for power. Not sure if this is what anyone else was taught, but it works for me! I never specified an actual handle shape to be honest, I just tend to add a half grip extra for the top hand, to give me better purchase there.
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Yeah, I'm with you on this. Personally I prefer to grip harder with the top hand, looser with the bottom. My school coach always said the top hand was for control, the bottom hand for power. Not sure if this is what anyone else was taught, but it works for me! I never specified an actual handle shape to be honest, I just tend to add a half grip extra for the top hand, to give me better purchase there.
Yes Justin your school coach was a man who knows
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I find that the oval shape far better suits trhe shape of my hand as the length of my finger joints is longer than the distance between my tumb and first finger but I think it is ultimately a case of personal preference and something in favour of getting a bespoke bat made rather than picking one up of the shelf.
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Don't even get me started on round handles... poorer for playing cricket with in every possible way.
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Don't even get me started on round handles... poorer for playing cricket with in every possible way.
Almost all Asian batting superstars of the past and current time play with a round handle. It really can't be "poorer for playing cricket". I doubt even if Don Bradman used oval handles.
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At least to me,
1) Oval handle helps me know/feel the direction of the face of the bat without looking at the bat. With round handle, I wouldn't know at all unless i looked at the bat.
2) Secondly, oval feels more naturally fitted in my hand and also makes my bottom hand not grip too tightly. Maybe not all hand shapes are similar as OP feels round handle fits more naturally to him.
Interestingly, I thought 1) only applied to me, but Kane Williamson said that as well in one of his videos on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ3R2arNXM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ3R2arNXM)
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At least to me,
1) Oval handle helps me know/feel the direction of the face of the bat without looking at the bat. With round handle, I wouldn't know at all unless i looked at the bat.
2) Secondly, oval feels more naturally fitted in my hand and also makes my bottom hand not grip too tightly. Maybe not all hand shapes are similar as OP feels round handle fits more naturally to him.
Interestingly, I thought 1) only applied to me, but Kane Williamson said that as well in one of his videos on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ3R2arNXM (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdJ3R2arNXM)
Exactly - imagine playing a racket sport with a round handle ... wouldn’t know where the racket is pointing.
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Personally the shape of handle is something that has bothered me less and less as ive got older. I have a mix of oval and round handled bats, as long as they arent too thick I can use both with equal comfort
Exactly - imagine playing a racket sport with a round handle ... wouldn’t know where the racket is pointing.
But we dont play a racket sport
We play a sport where you have a long time to re-set your stance and grip between each delivery.
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Almost all Asian batting superstars of the past and current time play with a round handle. It really can't be "poorer for playing cricket". I doubt even if Don Bradman used oval handles.
Haha, imagine how much better Bradman, Pollock, Sobers, Richards,Lara, Kohli and co would’ve been if they used an oval handle.!!
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Ever since i started using an oval handle bat i have noticed a lot more control over my batting and a drastic decrease in unwanted cross bat shots. I am naturally left handed and it is my bottom habd while batting as well. Oval handle gives me more control over when my bottom hand is needed for powerful shots
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Don't even get me started on round handles... poorer for playing cricket with in every possible way.
Not if you have small hands which when you use oval handles your bottom hand gets forced off the handle playing a shot even small ovals do this.
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I am used to oval handles now so i prefer them.
I tried using a round handle and with offside shots the bat was twisting in my hand and i was sort of pushing my bottom hand into the shot.
Cuts , pulls, flicks are all okay with a round handle.
I feel all the drives, on the other hand, give better power/control with an oval handle.
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Not if you have small hands which when you use oval handles your bottom hand gets forced off the handle playing a shot even small ovals do this.
I have ‘youth’ sized hands and love an oval handle, even rectangular and I so don’t agree with this. I grip very loosely with the bottom hand with only the tips of my fingers and thumb on the handle.
Ultimately there is no right answer, it’s what you personally prefer.
It’s no different from saying light bats are better than heavy ones.
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Oval all the way - a round handle just feels too thin and i feel i have zero control of my shots. If I purchase a bat with a round handle (on ebay sometimes without knowing the handle shape) i always mod the handle to a oval handle with tape etc
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Remember Adam Gilchrist? He used a very thick oval handle to 1. Loosen his bottom hand grip and 2. Stop the bat from twisting. Unless you are a very-very wristy player e.g. Kohli today, azar, dravid, laxman in the past, or you aren’t belting Yorkers for sixes like Dhoni using wristy shots, you don’t need a round bottom hand.
I personally feel that a round handle naturally fits well in the human hand. The grip and hold is a lot more easy and comfortable. The bat is a lot easy and simple to maneuver with a round handle as per the anatomy of a human hand.
Many other players may find oval or semi oval handle better. Which is all good.
My question is, if I remember correctly, it used to be round handles only.
And the oval or semi oval came in as a marketing ploy in the name of innovation. Folks then slowly started to pick the idea.
The idea is, it helps stop the twist.
My argument is, if it helps stop the twist then it may also create some hindrance when you actually DO WANT to slightly twist the bat and get the right angle to play the intended stroke.
But also and more curiously, if the bat has a rubber grip and you are wearing gloves where the leathers in the palms provides some excellent traction, why would the bat twist so much in your hands that you need an oval handle?
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Doesn't kohli use a (thin) oval handle?
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That's quite true but I believe that has happened quite recently (within past two years) and from the looks of it, he uses semi-oval. Many Indian players have changed to oval handles nowadays and many Indian manufacturers are also producing bats with semi-oval handles. Obviously, it is a feel/comfort thing as well e.g. Sachin wasn't a very wristy player but he always used round handles but if you tank to batting coaches and knowledgable bat makers (legendary JM), they will always say that oval handle is far better than round. What more, I have realized that it doesn't break/lose power as quickly as a round handle does upon toe-ending/mistiming the balls simply because it is far stronger near the splice to bottom hand area.
Doesn't kohli use a (thin) oval handle?
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Ever since i started using an oval handle bat i have noticed a lot more control over my batting and a drastic decrease in unwanted cross bat shots. I am naturally left handed and it is my bottom habd while batting as well. Oval handle gives me more control over when my bottom hand is needed for powerful shots
Seriously, what does the shape of handle got anything to do with the decision of playing or not playing a cross bat shot?
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Haha, imagine how much better Bradman, Pollock, Sobers, Richards,Lara, Kohli and co would’ve been if they used an oval handle.!!
Haha. Someone with an oval handle has to break Bradman and Sachin’s records to prove your point.
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Seriously, what does the shape of handle got anything to do with the decision of playing or not playing a cross bat shot?
Do u remember Gilchrist putting a squash ball in his bottom hand glove while batting in 2007 World Cup? You start playing across the line when your bottom hand dominates. Thick oval handle reduces that grip and hence naturally you play straighter.
I also feel that an oval handle helps me place the ball better by not twisting so much in my hands and it also allows me to have thin edges which of course helps with keeping the weight of the bat down.
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Do u remember Gilchrist putting a squash ball in his bottom hand glove while batting in 2007 World Cup? You start playing across the line when your bottom hand dominates. Thick oval handle reduces that grip and hence naturally you play straighter.
I also feel that an oval handle helps me place the ball better by not twisting so much in my hands and it also allows me to have thin edges which of course helps with keeping the weight of the bat down.
hmmm ... so what you are saying is this.
In your back-lift when you intend to play a cross bat shot, (lets say a pull or even a sweep) the toe of the bat points towards and point fielder and face of the bat is facing the bowler, now you make the swing, and the face of the bat twists towards sky or towards the ground if you play with a round handle? And it won't do so if you play with an oval handle?
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hmmm ... so what you are saying is this.
In your back-lift when you intend to play a cross bat shot, (lets say a pull or even a sweep) the toe of the bat points towards and point fielder and face of the bat is facing the bowler, now you make the swing, and the face of the bat twists towards sky or towards the ground if you play with a round handle? And it won't do so if you play with an oval handle?
In your cross batted shots, your bottom hand is going to dominate any way. Is the difference between hitting an on drive vs hitting the same ball at the cow corner unintentionally where an oval handle (Bottom hand) helps. It doesn’t let you use your wrists that easily.
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It’s all subjective. My bottom hand shots actually improved after switching to oval. Don’t know why, but maybe being a tennis player all my life (hence used to oval feel in bottom hand) is why it worked for me.
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Haha. Someone with an oval handle has to break Bradman and Sachin’s records to prove your point.
No point made. Just having a chuckle. Whatever works really. Oval or round personal choice in my book.
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No point made. Just having a chuckle. Whatever works really. Oval or round personal choice in my book.
Yes, that's true.
100% personal choice and I fully support it.
I just wanted to see what are the various reasons? And it was for my own knowledge.
Everyone is free to use whatever handle shape works for them.
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I would agree that oval handle base feels much better and gives a lighter pick up. See below for the wide variations of handle shape on some bats : https://photos.app.goo.gl/YnavYTvN6Wqi9Roc6
The Warsop in particular has a very large handle and quite extreme ovalling and is very comfortable to grip.
I would like to get the Mrf built up to have oval handle. Can this be done at home or is it a job for a specialist repairer? The GN in the pictures seems to have been built up with padding and the feel is very successful.
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I would agree that oval handle base feels much better and gives a lighter pick up. See below for the wide variations of handle shape on some bats : https://photos.app.goo.gl/YnavYTvN6Wqi9Roc6
The Warsop in particular has a very large handle and quite extreme ovalling and is very comfortable to grip.
I would like to get the Mrf built up to have oval handle. Can this be done at home or is it a job for a specialist repairer? The GN in the pictures seems to have been built up with padding and the feel is very successful.
Easy to do using strips of tape (I use 1 inch wide medical tape - the waterproof type is better as it doesn’t get crumpled up and stuck to the grip)
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Thanks. Do you run the tape vertically on the bit you want to be oval and then wrap it round with more tape?
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Wrap medical tape the smooth one is best where you grip the bat horizontally till it feels right.
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My new bat has an oval handle and I'm finding it straight away helped me line up drives better, seems to help align a straight follow through. With time I recon it might help have an intuitive feel for where your face is directed. Or could be placebo.
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Thanks to the forum I have now started taking the binding off most of my bat handles and shaping using a combination of a rasp/sand paper and using zinc oxide tape instead.
I had a go at making a round handle oval and the tape worked well!
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Here is an interesting Youtube about Kohli using oval handles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2U4DQi29rE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2U4DQi29rE)
Which of course makes it doubly annoying that my `Kohli-shaped' MRF sourced direct from India came with a small round handle. I guess these MRFs are made by SS or Sondhi and they supply round handles for their domestic market.
I have successfully built up the handle from small round to large oval by putting some sheep wool (from the chemist) on the back of the handle, wrapped in surgical tape, plus some strips of cut up bat grip on the back of the handle and then binding with surgical tape, plus triple grip. It is very comfortable now and works well in the nets - we'll see if the grip lasts in match situations.
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... You do have to understand a bit of Hindi (I think...) to get it all, but it's interspersed with enough English phrases to gather that Kohli uses a (small) fully oval handle and his bat weight is around 1150grammes (2lb 8.5oz). He also gives the bat weights for some other players like Chris Gayle, Rahul, etc...
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I've recently got an Aldred Gold Sovereign which has a very thick oval bottom hand that tapers to a semi oval top hand. When compared to other bats it looks bizarre because the handle is much thicker than the splice (with binding and grip).
I was quite sceptical, but it feels great in the hands and picks up really well for a 2lb10 bat.
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Anyone do this to their handles?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StIvyvJsVNk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StIvyvJsVNk)
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Yes I've tried it. Seems to work well. I made it even thicker by laying a bit of sheep's wool plus some strips of old grip under the strapping tape and it seems to work very well.
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Almost all Asian batting superstars of the past and current time play with a round handle. It really can't be "poorer for playing cricket". I doubt even if Don Bradman used oval handles.
I am not sure if Bradman used oval handles, but someone will be able to report back having looked at one or two of his bats in Museums. Oval handles are not a modern invention. I have my father's Gradidge from the early 1940's and that has a (thin by modern standards) semi - oval handle. My GN100 scoop circa 1980 also has a semi-oval handle.
Who can give us an eyewitness account to confirm the shape of one of Bradman's handles?
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Got a Kook Gold Crown in the 90's when I was a bairn that had a semi-oval handle (bottom hand only) and absolutely loved it - haven't changed my opinion on what feels best since. Is a purely personal thing though, I imagine if you're cross-dominant, thus bat with your naturally stronger hand at the top of the handle, it makes less difference having an oval handle, but for me (a right-handed right-hander) it definitely stops me choking the handle and playing with a heavy bottom hand.
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Who can give us an eyewitness account to confirm the shape of one of Bradman's handles?
3 months ago I visited the Bradman museum at Adelaide oval, which has quite a bit of his gear. Didn't take any notice of handle shape at the time, but might be going that way in a few weeks and could have a look.
It's a little hard to tell from pictures, but looking through the "The Bradman Albums", I don't see any evidence that points to his handles being anything but round. If anything they taper to to be thicker at the top
Round handles, light bats, rounded toes, thin edges, convex faces with about 5-6 grains - it's a miracle he made any runs at all ;)