Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: bradshawt on April 03, 2021, 10:03:47 AM
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Hi all,
This is partly a cathartic exercise but I replaced by Choice Willow bat at the end of last season after it broke - I had used it for six seasons and it was comfortably the best bat I ever used (which it should have been as it was a top of the line bat).
I bought the broken bat into choice and asked them to replicate it. Prices had gone up so I went for the £320 quid Test version (while my previous one had been the LE version). The hope was that it would play exactly the same as my previous bat and that was one less thing to worry about when batting.
I started using it at the end of last season and have had a net this season and I am slightly worried about it. It is almost certainly all in my head but the bat is not pinging how I would hope it would, and there are shots that I think I have middled (especially a little lower down the bat) which just are not going.
There are a couple of potential reasons for this
1. The bat was rushed into action a little - I had Choice knock it in but that was by a machine. Over the winter, I knocked it in more but there is talk online about bats with slightly less grains getting better. My old bat has 12-15 grains while this one (as you can see in the picture) is 8-9 Grains. Is there any truth in this? Especially outside of the sweet spot (which is great when I hit it)
2. The middle is slightly higher and I am just getting used to it
3. The bat is just not as good as my old one
4. The most likely - it is all in my head.
Apologies for the long question (which is really point 1 about a bat getting better over time, especially around this bat. The entire point of spending this amount of money on a bat was to avoid this kind of situation so I am little frustrated (even if I am just frustrated at myself)
I want to upload a picture but I have no idea how on this website.
Cheers
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Expensive bats do not necessarily mean best performance.
It is likely much of it is in your head and given time your new bat will get better and better. Most bats are at their best just before they break.
Use it as much as possible and give it time.
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Best think is to compare both bat's profiles, most likely that's the reason.
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If it was a replica surely the middle would be in the same position. I would say use it in nets as much as possible and see how it goes. My blank bat was the same, but after about half a season it came good
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If the willow has been graded lower than the previous bat you bought from them, there will be a reason for that. It wouldn’t make sense for them to sell you a lower grade bat they will give you the same level of performance from it.
Bats with 8-10 grains do feel different to 12-15 grain blades. They are typically less dense.
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If it was a replica surely the middle would be in the same position. I would say use it in nets as much as possible and see how it goes. My blank bat was the same, but after about half a season it came good
You said its middle is a bit higher, : no. 2
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If the willow has been graded lower than the previous bat you bought from them, there will be a reason for that. It wouldn’t make sense for them to sell you a lower grade bat they will give you the same level of performance from it.
Bats with 8-10 grains do feel different to 12-15 grain blades. They are typically less dense.
Off topic slightly, so apologies but why would it not make sense? I wouldn't want my Grade 3 bats to deliberately perform any worse than my Grade 1s. I use the same handles, I know they're pressed the same regardless and are all shaped/finished the same.
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Take the scuff sheet off, carefully, and give it a couple of coats of oil.
Plus
1.you can't compare a 6 seasons old bat to a new on as obviously the old one will feel softer.
2. Wait until you get the bat in the middle for a game and then use it.
If it feels good in the hands, it will come good.
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@bradshawt, there is one thing I have done to new bats that has worked. I know the areas of connection on my regular bats. I just trace out those areas with a pencil on a new bat and then go to town with a mallet. Brutal but effective. :D
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Hi all,
Thanks for all of the responses - I appreciate you all taking the time. I will try to respond to all in this single response.
In terms of grade, both are 1+ grade willow. The difference, as was explained to me, is that they do not advise the LE bat because those with 12+ grains have a very short shelf life and I suppose I was just extremely lucky that my previous high grained bat lasted a long time.
I think the profiles are the same. I don't have my old bat but I remember picking it up and it felt exactly the same. The problem, I suspect, is that the areas not in the middle are, whether short or long term, not as pingy as on the old bat so I just notice it more. It picks up beautifully. Actually, I think I notice it more because it is a new bat and I don't trust it so when I mistime one, I am looking at the bat rather than my inability to hit a proper cover drive.
I know that I tried to use it too early in a match, before it was ready, and it felt not great at all. I know this because there were strong seam marks from the new ball. I presumed that when they said they would knock it in, that it would be match ready. I learned this was not the case but it was the problem with a bat breaking mid season. This planted the seed that there was something wrong.
A few follow up questions
1. 'typically less dense' - what does that mean in terms of performance and also quite literally?
2. ' Old one feels softer' - again, what do you mean by that?
3. Why am I oiling it again? It has only been used 10 times total (net and 2 matches)
4. Mallet work - is it still valuable at this point when I have properly worked on it (after I used it too early in a match). I suppose this leads to my more general question which is do bats massively improve over a period of time.
Cheers
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@bradshawt, there is one thing I have done to new bats that has worked. I know the areas of connection on my regular bats. I just trace out those areas with a pencil on a new bat and then go to town with a mallet. Brutal but effective. :D
At least you know your edges will be well prepared...
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4. Mallet work - is it still valuable at this point when I have properly worked on it (after I used it too early in a match). I suppose this leads to my more general question which is do bats massively improve over a period of time.
You have seam marks? Your bat needs mallet work.
Ball not going far when you time the shot? Your bat needs mallet work. :D
Here is the dirty little secret of the bat world: It takes a long time for most bats to ping optimally! Unless you get medieval on your bat with a mallet and do some m... :D
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At least you know your edges will be well prepared...
Uncle @Batoff, the OP was asking about performance and not preliminary bat preparation. It is safe to presume that edges were prepared.
I spelled it all out for you. Happy? :D
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@InternalTraining I think the joke about your "areas of connection" may've gone slightly over your head.
Would you like it spelled out for you? ;)
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A few follow up questions
1. 'typically less dense' - what does that mean in terms of performance and also quite literally?
2. ' Old one feels softer' - again, what do you mean by that?
3. Why am I oiling it again? It has only been used 10 times total (net and 2 matches)
4. Mallet work - is it still valuable at this point when I have properly worked on it (after I used it too early in a match). I suppose this leads to my more general question which is do bats massively improve over a period of time.
Here goes...
1. Less dense means there is a lower moisture content in the willow cleft or the fibres are wider apart making the bat seem bigger than its weight. It is a feel thing.
They can perform very well. It depends on how it is pressed.
2. Soft is an over used phrase for more pingy.
3. You are oiling it again to loosen up the fibres and help it preform better faster. Up to you really on that.
4. Knocking a bat in is boring but it can help bats perform better.
As I said earlier, use the bat in a game, hit a couple of nice boundaries with it and away you go.
Or keep buying new bats until you find another unicorn bat. Up to you really!
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Buzz, after this post, no one will be buying another bat, any more 😀😀,
Great Post, seriously!
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Hi all,
Thanks for all of the responses - I appreciate you all taking the time. I will try to respond to all in this single response.
In terms of grade, both are 1+ grade willow. The difference, as was explained to me, is that they do not advise the LE bat because those with 12+ grains have a very short shelf life and I suppose I was just extremely lucky that my previous high grained bat lasted a long time.
I think the profiles are the same. I don't have my old bat but I remember picking it up and it felt exactly the same. The problem, I suspect, is that the areas not in the middle are, whether short or long term, not as pingy as on the old bat so I just notice it more. It picks up beautifully. Actually, I think I notice it more because it is a new bat and I don't trust it so when I mistime one, I am looking at the bat rather than my inability to hit a proper cover drive.
I know that I tried to use it too early in a match, before it was ready, and it felt not great at all. I know this because there were strong seam marks from the new ball. I presumed that when they said they would knock it in, that it would be match ready. I learned this was not the case but it was the problem with a bat breaking mid season. This planted the seed that there was something wrong.
A few follow up questions
1. 'typically less dense' - what does that mean in terms of performance and also quite literally?
2. ' Old one feels softer' - again, what do you mean by that?
3. Why am I oiling it again? It has only been used 10 times total (net and 2 matches)
4. Mallet work - is it still valuable at this point when I have properly worked on it (after I used it too early in a match). I suppose this leads to my more general question which is do bats massively improve over a period of time.
Cheers
I have found one of the best ways to get more miles into a bat is to go to the nets with a club mate and just literally hit hundreds of underarm throwdowns.
1. It will actually help your technique as you can work on stuff like balance and head position at the same time.
2. It is a very easy way to actually feel the ball in the middle of the bat and get use to a new bat.
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Cheers all - thanks for the input.
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I had a net today with a new bat that had been knocked in with a mallet but this was the first time against cricket balls. Felt exactly the same as you describe your bat. Ball not coming off quite as I would like, sounded a bit tinny and felt it slightly more in the hands when hitting the ball.
I know a number of companies market their bats as being ready to play but I can genuinely only think of one bat I have used that was ready straight from the box. Bats need to be played in to get the best from them.