Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: wasted_talent on November 24, 2020, 01:09:56 PM
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Ohh this looks stunning. A new CA Sports bat:
CA Legend
Nice little promo video too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)
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This only means one thing. The morgs bats are going a grade down
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Wonder if this will be falsely advertised like the rest of the crap they send out?
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Wonder if this will be falsely advertised like the rest of the crap they send out?
Tell us what you really think :D
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)
Love it!
Laser engravings beat stickers.
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Tell us what you really think :D
😂😂 CA are one brand that I really cannot stand, from the blatant lies on the stickers, to the terrible handles they use. Their bats perform great, but their morals and QC seem to be non existent at best lol.
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Its as if someone went about selling laser engraving machines to all the asian batmakers and now it is the latest fad among them. So far, I have seen SS and RS share pics of laser engraved bats, and now CA. I must say, they do look really cool.
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Its as if someone went about selling laser engraving machines to all the asian batmakers and now it is the latest fad among them. So far, I have seen SS and RS share pics of laser engraved bats, and now CA. I must say, they do look really cool.
Presumably it is harder to create knock off versions of laser engraved bats than it is to get sets of fans stickers printed? O would be surprised if it isn't a concern to some of these brands just how many knock offs there are of their higher end bats
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Probably easier to copy isn’t it. If you’re in the k icc off bats business anyway.
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Personal experience with CA bats, never had any issues with their handles.
Also, the myth about their side sticker weights, those weights are in LBS. So 2.9LBS would be 2 pounds 14 ounces. Is my understanding.
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As for other models dropping a grade. Not sure that will be the case with the Morgs LE. But isnt it what all brands do? Gray Nicolls introduced the Legend, and it automatically became their top model. So the other models would have a ripple effect.
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Personal experience with CA bats, never had any issues with their handles.
Also, the myth about their side sticker weights, those weights are in LBS. So 2.9LBS would be 2 pounds 14 ounces. Is my understanding.
While your understanding is what CA have said,, in practice it doesn’t work out that way. I’ve had circa 25 CA bats in for repair or refurb over the last 18 months. Every single one of them had either 2.8 or 2.9 on them, and they ranged from 2lbs 8oz to 3lb 1oz
It’s a complete joke. They literally only have those 2 stickers I’d wager. And just stick them on everything 😂
Also, why lie and put a “fully knocked” sticker on every bat?
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As for other models dropping a grade. Not sure that will be the case with the Morgs LE. But isnt it what all brands do? Gray Nicolls introduced the Legend, and it automatically became their top model. So the other models would have a ripple effect.
Not necessarily, the legend is their exclusive limited edition range, you can still buy pro performances that are their top range without the legend stickers.
What people are raising an issue with is “the Morgs edition is x% of our top willow limited to x per year” last season, and now next season this laser engraved bat will be “x% of our top willow limited to x per year” the morgs won’t reduce in price but will still have the same prestige that it did this year, and this will be assumedly at a higher price. They can’t both be the top x% of the willow, it’s just not possible.
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Mmm all just sounds like marketing gimmick's anyway ;)
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While your understanding is what CA have said,, in practice it doesn’t work out that way. I’ve had circa 25 CA bats in for repair or refurb over the last 18 months. Every single one of them had either 2.8 or 2.9 on them, and they ranged from 2lbs 8oz to 3lb 1oz
It’s a complete joke. They literally only have those 2 stickers I’d wager. And just stick them on everything 😂
He's the reason why..
We cut down a tree which is a living thing requiring water to grow, it now get stored for moisture to deduce and so does the weight of the bat. We now put the clefts into a metal container and send it to Pakistan and India. The heat inside the container removes a lot of moisture and weight. A bat is made from the willow in many occasions outside in what we in the UK would consider to be very hot, hotter than i would be in our front room with the heating on (somewhere we wouldn't store our bat in the winter! It is then shipped back to the UK in the same containers again loosing weight.
When it gets back to the UK is will soak in as much moisture as it can but each bat will be different and therefore no matter what the weight sticker on the bat is it will never be the same in the UK!
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Oh the science, makes sense.
So its unfair to be critical of CA in that case. :D
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He's the reason why..
We cut down a tree which is a living thing requiring water to grow, it now get stored for moisture to deduce and so does the weight of the bat. We now put the clefts into a metal container and send it to Pakistan and India. The heat inside the container removes a lot of moisture and weight. A bat is made from the willow in many occasions outside in what we in the UK would consider to be very hot, hotter than i would be in our front room with the heating on (somewhere we wouldn't store our bat in the winter! It is then shipped back to the UK in the same containers again loosing weight.
When it gets back to the UK is will soak in as much moisture as it can but each bat will be different and therefore no matter what the weight sticker on the bat is it will never be the same in the UK!
Regardless of the science and whether or not that is the case - I’ve not seen it occur in other Pakistani made bats such as Malik who put the weight on their bats - a good friend of mine uses Malik for his brand and has no issues with incorrect weights.
Does the moisture changing somehow reverse the knocking in process? Either way CA are charlatans in my books.
Also, I find it odd that every single bat that CA produce has one of 3 stickers on it lol 😂
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CA probably have the best-finished bats from Pakistan along with MB Malik... ( although there's better value for money brands), it is frustrating that they still do silly things like the knocked in ready to play stickers...
Otherwise, their bats are fantastic, much easier if you can buy from somewhere where you can pick the bat yourself or they are weighed again accurately by the retailer ( I know they shouldn't have to).
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I see CA now have a UK Warehouse and some UK retailers are stocking them. So the option to go and buy in person for UK people is now available.
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He's the reason why..
We cut down a tree which is a living thing requiring water to grow, it now get stored for moisture to deduce and so does the weight of the bat. We now put the clefts into a metal container and send it to Pakistan and India. The heat inside the container removes a lot of moisture and weight. A bat is made from the willow in many occasions outside in what we in the UK would consider to be very hot, hotter than i would be in our front room with the heating on (somewhere we wouldn't store our bat in the winter! It is then shipped back to the UK in the same containers again loosing weight.
When it gets back to the UK is will soak in as much moisture as it can but each bat will be different and therefore no matter what the weight sticker on the bat is it will never be the same in the UK!
Do the handles shrink in the container, along with the blade widths too? Asking for a friend. :D
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Do the handles shrink in the container, along with the blade widths too? Asking for a friend. :D
Hahaha gold.
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Not found any issues in widths or handle lengths in CA bats :D
Sounds like we have a few CA fans here lol
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Me neither... I've always seen good handles on genuine bats. But have heard comments re the weight before (whatever the cause is) and they are definitely not knocked in!
They are heavily faked which maybe a contributing factor to some of the negatives..
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1. My team mates have taken brand new CA bats to matches (without bothering to knock them) and hit sixes with them. They can't stop singing praises of CAs. Personally, I don't "knock" bats as they ought to be. Light mallet work followed by net time is enough. I prepare bats preemptively in case top bat(s) goes to bat heaven. So, those bats in rotation are getting net time even batting time in practice/light matches. I have said this before: bat makers need to understand their market! Where I play, people are too busy to knock a bat properly. They'd rather take a bat, use it, make some runs, and when it breaks, replace with another one. It seems CA hits that sweet spot for my market.
Also, the reason cricket is losing popularity is that it is a hard sport to get into and enjoy. Yes, it is hard to enjoy! Most bats suck. Most bat makers make things difficult for users. There is no standardization around bat specifications. It is a joke! Make things easy for people to enjoy, not hard. Young people don't have that kind of an attention span. Cricket bat and equipment manufactures needs to leave WG Grace era behind and embrace the 21st. century.
2. Never had issues with the handles. I know of atleast 4 CAs that I own -- could be more but they are the only ones visible in my pile of bats. :D :D My main match bat is at least 7 seasons old. It is delaminated and sounds funny but (knock on wood) it is my top performer. My close second is a Keeley (20+ grains).
3. Regarding weight, I have seen CA weights that are spot on (as stickered) and also heavier bats. My first two Lavers were heavier by two ounces. Laver had a weight problem for a while where their bats were arriving heavier than shipped. Lavers aren't cheap and shipping them back is a pain.
4. Regarding width of the bat, if a bat is missing a few millimeters, so what? If you are bothered by that, I suggest more hobbies and people in your life. I have never measured if a bat is missing millimeters; as long as it pings, I just hit the ball from the middle instead of the missing millimeters from the edges of the blade.
5. Now, shorter blade, long handle bats are the rage these days. CA were the first one to make such bats. That configuration helps improve bat swing. But for lovers of tradition, it was a crime! This fanatical attachment to traditions is hobbling progress of this sport. Standard bat sizing is absolutely incorrect and impractical.
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Here is a funny story about handles...
I bought a very nice looking Newbery from a forum member. The handle of the bat seemed "springy". The bat had a nice provenance so I thought that was by design. Again, bat was beautiful. About 1.5 years after buying the bat, I took it to nets and the handle broke. This was a BRAND NEW bat with an unblemished blade. The seller refused any responsibility and so did his dealer. I had to go to *ahem* bat maker to fix the handle and they were awesome to deal with.
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Do the handles shrink in the container, along with the blade widths too?
What about the width of big/thick bats that are missing millimeters of width to pass the MCC bat gauge?
Those bat makers are not "advertising" that the blade is missing a few mm of width , are they?
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@InternalTraining personally this for me is very important and is nothing more than a mindset thing. It’s why Iv never gone near Aus GN or kookaburra as they are often 103-105mm thing.
Also I don’t see why tradition is holding the game back?? The wicket is still 22yrds long, ball is round and still weighs 5.75 ounces and overs have been for a very long while 6 balls in length.
Bats are such a personal thing and to just come out and say basically that if a few mm are missing I need more friends I’m
Not sure what they are going to be able to do about my personal preference for a full width bat?? But like you seem a big fan of CA bats that’s fine as you like to be able to get the exact same profile across all the ranges just with a different to range of stickers that cover 75% of the blade is your preference
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Funnily enough Shoaib Malik wasn't a fan of the coverage of CA stickers... hence if you see the SM 18s he uses have less coverage by stickers...
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And won't be an issue with the Legends...but at them silly prices...I'll give them a miss.. :D ;)
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I’ll throw this in too...
How many are genuine CA?
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This might have changed now, but I’ve never come across substantially narrow CAs. The narrowest I have ever seen is 106.5, most others were 107. And same on the back as the front. I personally prefer full 108mm width, but when it comes to brands that make narrower bats, CAs seem way better than other culprits (including some UK manufacturers). Handles certainly “look” weird with five springs , but never had an issue with it performance. And in terms of ping, CAs are top tier.
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He's the reason why..
We cut down a tree which is a living thing requiring water to grow, it now get stored for moisture to deduce and so does the weight of the bat. We now put the clefts into a metal container and send it to Pakistan and India. The heat inside the container removes a lot of moisture and weight. A bat is made from the willow in many occasions outside in what we in the UK would consider to be very hot, hotter than i would be in our front room with the heating on (somewhere we wouldn't store our bat in the winter! It is then shipped back to the UK in the same containers again loosing weight.
When it gets back to the UK is will soak in as much moisture as it can but each bat will be different and therefore no matter what the weight sticker on the bat is it will never be the same in the UK!
I loved the ping on my CA 10,000 Plus. Didn't like the way it fell apart due to the dryness extra moisture it picked up while being back in Europe.
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Is there a pact to defend CA after Fakhar-gate melted the minds of Pakistan supporters :D
I don't know about this "Fakhar-gate" business; I am sharing my observations and experiences.
If I were to compare other bat makers to CA and the issues I've had, none of them would come out looking good.
Other than CAs, my Keeley bats have been pretty consistent - except for the brand new Newbery whose handle broke after 1 practice.
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@InternalTraining personally this for me is very important and is nothing more than a mindset thing. It’s why Iv never gone near Aus GN or kookaburra as they are often 103-105mm thing.
That's your choice and it is fine.
5 mm is 0.197 inches. Let's round it up to 0.2 inches. As a user, not a bat maker, I think it is nothing to worry about. It is 0.2 inches. 3mm is even less. :)
Also I don’t see why tradition is holding the game back?? The wicket is still 22yrds long, ball is round and still weighs 5.75 ounces and overs have been for a very long while 6 balls in length.
The rules of the game are fine. I love them. Heck, if I could, I'd watch Test cricket all day. :D
My gripe about tradition is with regards to gear, especially bats. How is it that in 2020, there is no standardization for bat specs? There was a discussion about GM's pickup rating and I find it bizarre that there is no universally accepted standard for pickup.
Bats are such a personal thing and to just come out and say basically that if a few mm are missing I need more friends I’m
Not sure what they are going to be able to do about my personal preference for a full width bat??
I meant it is not a big deal, didn't mean to say that am small army of new friends could help with missing mms. :D
But like you seem a big fan of CA bats that’s fine as you like to be able to get the exact same profile across all the ranges just with a different to range of stickers that cover 75% of the blade is your preference
Here is my why I am so vocal about this. I must have dozens of almost brand new bats that never saw a match. From specs perspective, they are proper width, "nice handles", and by some standards nice stickers too. Grade 1 or higher. They were too stubborn to open up. Other than self-defense or firewood, these "proper" bats are pretty useless. People are very quick to criticize CA bats but , man oh man, do they ping! I have timed a many gentle pushes to boundary with old faithful CA. Batting is fun with a bat that pings and CAs do their job. Nit picking over little things seems silly to me when MOST bats by MOST batmakers fail to fulfill their primary purpose!
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You really think "most bats by most makers" aren't responsive or don't ping?
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You really think "most bats by most makers" aren't responsive or don't ping?
I'd certainly dispute this statement too! 😆
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I've owned, borrowed and used bats from - rough guess - 10 different bat makers and only one has been a real dud. Not going to pretend every one was a gun but I've had far more bats that were good performers and just didn't suit me than bats that didn't perform at all.
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You really think "most bats by most makers" aren't responsive or don't ping?
Playing devil's advocate I'd hazard a guess he probably means they are pretty responsive from the off and pretty consistent in that...
I guess people have good experiences with a brand and go back... am sure there's people on here who could say the same about other brands...
What I would say is I've never had a bad CA and I know personally 2 people who used CA bats after using mine, but again I am sure there's people here with the same story and you can swap out CA for X other brand...
Having seen the CA Legend priced at 600 quid... there's no chance Id pay that much for one! Then again SS who also churn out a generic shape with sharpies sell 500+ quid bats ... it's what makes you happy...
Best bat I've ever had was Charlie French (bought in 2008 and is with a friend at the moment) and its the only Charlie French bat I've owned... therefore I have to say Every Charlie French bat I've had has been amazing... never had a bad one ;) I'm really at the point where I think I want a new bat from Charlie!
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Best bat I've ever had was Charlie French (bought in 2008 and is with a friend at the moment) and its the only Charlie French bat I've owned... therefore I have to say Every Charlie French bat I've had has been amazing... never had a bad one ;) I'm really at the point where I think I want a new bat from Charlie!
My current CF is all but retired now after 5 years, still pings like a good un and wouldn't hesitate to get another. Got lucky with this one as it was a cleft he had set aside for his nephew.
Charlie is definitely under appreciated on here, doubt there is many who can press a bat like he can
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Last time I saw a CA in the flesh it looked rather nice. So I checked it up against another bat... I'm not even sure it was big enough to be a Harrow! Ridiculous.
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@InternalTraining sorry to hear that your experience has been poor and that’s why I would argue it’s impossible to standardise the bat industry as to much is subjective.
I must have used somewhere from 50-75 bat brands since joining this forum which is almost a decade and i would say i have had 2 brands that failed to produce a bat that performed. I like to think of myself as a pretty decent club player and bat a fair amount of time and some take longer than others but to say how many brands have failed to do what was required i would say 2 from 50 at best. However one of those that i gave to someone else hit over 1200 runs that season with the bat i felt was a plank so its each to there own really
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The whole narrow width, or shorter than the "standard" - seems to be happening lots across many brands? SS Retro range? DSC bats?
I dont think its CA alone that may be missing a few mm?
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Here is a funny story about handles...
I bought a very nice looking Newbery from a forum member. The handle of the bat seemed "springy". The bat had a nice provenance so I thought that was by design. Again, bat was beautiful. About 1.5 years after buying the bat, I took it to nets and the handle broke. This was a BRAND NEW bat with an unblemished blade. The seller refused any responsibility and so did his dealer. I had to go to *ahem* bat maker to fix the handle and they were awesome to deal with.
Why would the seller or their dealer have any responsibility?
Bats usually come with a 12 month warranty, you've said this was 18 months after you bought it second hand.
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You really think "most bats by most makers" aren't responsive or don't ping?
I think his point is that many bats are pressed too firmly to provide an element of longevity for club players. He also seems to think that people are prepared to buy a new bat from the same make if it breaks which I'm less sure about. Certainly the 'knocked in' stickers on CA's are a joke I can't imagine using one against a new ball at decent pace.
I agree that many bats are too firmly pressed and need a good couple of seasons to 'come good'. I've got a couple of L&W Reserve's and a Keeley that don't get used because they are are too 'hard' and I haven't had the time to get them right. I sold an Aldred two seasons ago because it was taking forever to open up, but now my mate that uses it won't let it go because it's now an excellent bat. I suspect that many people would find this process frustrating and don't have the patience (me included) to get a bat to peak performance, whether softly pressed bats with a questionable life span is a viable alternative I'm not sure.
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Surprised you've got a Keeley with a hard press. I've had a few and they were all at most a medium feel, the one I've hung on to opened up by the time winter nets were done.
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You really think "most bats by most makers" aren't responsive or don't ping?
Most bats don't open up in reasonable time to be of value to the batsmen. Bats are a crap shoot.
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Why would the seller or their dealer have any responsibility?
Bats usually come with a 12 month warranty, you've said this was 18 months after you bought it second hand.
I suspected that dealer had sold a defective bat to the first owner. When I bought it, there wasn't a single mark on the blade of the Newbery Blitz.
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Most bats don't open up in reasonable time to be of value to the batsmen. Bats are a crap shoot.
Fair enough, only had a few bats that didn't open up with a few months of netting behind them but I guess that what's reasonable depends on your circumstances.
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My view would be that the average club player would prefer longevity over peak performance. Particularly as bats have increased exponentially in price in real terms in recent years, the majority of customers would expect their bats to last. The majority of the players at my club only own one bat, and in many cases have used it across a number of seasons.
There are a smaller group who are seeking peak performance - and often not prepared to play a bat in - who would take a bat that performs better from the start but won't last as long.
It's understandable that manufacturers will generally look to cater for the first group given that makes up the largest part of the market
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Ohh this looks stunning. A new CA Sports bat:
CA Legend
Nice little promo video too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (https://www.instagram.com/p/CH-PWSdnZUd/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link)
So they are what? Like 5 years behind GN to copy their idea of laser engraving and whittle a bat named LEGEND?
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The whole narrow width, or shorter than the "standard" - seems to be happening lots across many brands? SS Retro range? DSC bats?
I dont think its CA alone that may be missing a few mm?
Narrowing is a huge pet peeve of mine. Yes, lots of brands are doing it - that doesn't make it okay though. 108mm is the maximum width, but should be set as the industry standard. I've had some bats that I've sent back cause they're far too narrow (105mm I can just about accept) - I'm not paying adult sized prices for a harrow width bat. (104mm) In a market where volume - weight ratio is quite a big selling point, narrowing bats to fake low density (Without advertising it as such) is cheating. I've not even started on the narrowing of the back of the bats!
Just my view on this - Keeley, SS/TON, DSC, CA, SG, Chase, Aus/Indian market GNs are just a few of those who seem to be culprits in this regard. Some retailers can already have a headache of measuring edge and spine sizes to cater customer enquiries and listing bats - don't make them have to check the width of every bat up and down.
Also, with regards to the legitimacy of some CA labelled bats - I'll share something a little later. (I do quite like the look of the CA legend though, but echo Sitonit's sentiments about it.) Personally, I feel the quality of CA bats in general have gone down since the TRD 12000 days - back when the 8000 was a very respectable grade. I'm sure I sold @Kulli a very nice 8000 here, but I may have confused him with someone else! Every CA bat I saw, bar none, was very well made and balanced. They were no less durable than bats today. (Could be rose tinted glasses, could be that clubmates all picked their's out in Pakistan)
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Also, with regards to the legitimacy of some CA labelled bats - I'll share something a little later.
Oooohh I'm intrigued... :D
could be that clubmates all picked their's out in Pakistan
Just recently have there been more UK retailers selling CA bats, but most family and friends I've seen get Pakistani brands from Pakistan... but doesn't mean they are all getting genuine bats due to lots fakes in Pakistan... I got burnt years ago with a fake MB Malik Sher. The same shop sold me a genuine PLUS 10000 and fake Malik... go figure... I'd go as far as some of the smaller shops couldn't even tell you if they were selling fakes...
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Misuse of term 'opening up'. But I can't be bothered anymore.