Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: gihanrat on September 17, 2024, 05:51:02 AM
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Looks like the GN 2025 equipment (including the Neocore) reveal will start on 24.09.25......
....wonder what other goodies there will be for net season :o
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Think Rob @Six Sixes Cricket stated on socials he was closed today and tomorrow for the GM 2025 launch event, they are the earliest most years to retailers and then the public see it in a month or so
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Ooh this used to be one of the biggest days of the forum
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Hi Rob @Six Sixes Cricket
Is there anything really nice coming from Gm this year , not after specifics but anything that you think will sell really well ?
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It would be nice if those in the know could highlight when various ranges are being showcased to trade and/or launches to the wider public....
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Ooh this used to be one of the biggest days of the forum
This and the 'back in the day' bat kit tests in the print media. Such an good time.
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Excited to see if @Tom can find the GM gear early as usual.
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Good shout but prob won’t be on retailers websites for a few weeks yet if the launch is 4 weeks away ..
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Hi Rob @Six Sixes Cricket
Is there anything really nice coming from Gm this year , not after specifics but anything that you think will sell really well ?
Launch to public is tuesday 12th November. 2 new bats this year, 1 looks very nice, should do well, plus a couple of lighter models.
A few changes to some gloves in the line up as well.
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It would be nice if those in the know could highlight when various ranges are being showcased to trade and/or launches to the wider public....
We got shown the GN kit in june/july. Expect delivery anytime from November to January for that. Kook are doing the rounds currently. I havent seen it yet. Expect drops to start/ novemeber/december. GM usually drop novemeber orders a week prior to launch. NB will drop from november , mine will drop feb onwards. Not seen anything from DSC yet. Down to Chase next week, so will see what changes are happening then, expect the new bats around november/december
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From what i hear, kook bats up 15%, GM up 10% , and Chase went up 27% in january due to the price of willow.
Also shipping has gone through the roof, so potentially price rises after xmas.
I did speak to one retailer and he said the cost of bringing in backpacks worked out £15 per bag dearer due to the shipping cost
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Launch to public is tuesday 12th November. 2 new bats this year, 1 looks very nice, should do well, plus a couple of lighter models.
A few changes to some gloves in the line up as well.
Is it short blade longer handle the one that looks very nice ?
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From what i hear, kook bats up 15%, GM up 10% , and Chase went up 27% in january due to the price of willow.
Also shipping has gone through the roof, so potentially price rises after xmas.
I did speak to one retailer and he said the cost of bringing in backpacks worked out £15 per bag dearer due to the shipping cost
Thanks for taking the time to post, Rob. Sadly, prices rising is almost inevitable at the moment.
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Is it short blade longer handle the one that looks very nice ?
Yes
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I assume the New Balance gear will match what’s just released for the Aussies. New CK10 spikes look nice with fuelcell foam. Will be looking to pick a pair of them up.
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From what i hear, kook bats up 15%, GM up 10% , and Chase went up 27% in january due to the price of willow.
Also shipping has gone through the roof, so potentially price rises after xmas.
I did speak to one retailer and he said the cost of bringing in backpacks worked out £15 per bag dearer due to the shipping cost
So roughly a GM 808 will have an RRP of £360 and be sold for about £280-£290, Kookaburra 3.1 will be RRP £350 and sell for £270-£280 just picking middle of the range models from this two mentioned. This will push the top and bats well over £600 RRP and sold above the £500 mark not including the Legends of players editions.
Getting a very expensive sport indeed with the main stream brands
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It will be very interesting to see how sustainable those prices are.
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How much will a signature be ?
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Millichamp and Hall now have three price points for bats: £535, £650 and £795. :o
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The other day there was a chaos on insta on wcw site
They are circa 750 I think and it looked like a g4 ..
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Here you go a Kook Jos Butler players edition, £1000 RRP £800 purchase price. Uneven waivey grains, small knot on the rear. Can honestly say I would grade this as a G3
(https://i.postimg.cc/0QCDvjJR/A22-F55-E8-56-C2-41-C8-B6-F1-A7-DD15-C9827-F.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/hzffbSrp)
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Here you go a Kook Jos Butler players edition, £1000 RRP £800 purchase price. Uneven waivey grains, small knot on the rear. Can honestly say I would grade this as a G3
(https://i.postimg.cc/0QCDvjJR/A22-F55-E8-56-C2-41-C8-B6-F1-A7-DD15-C9827-F.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/hzffbSrp)
How has it tapped up/ played?
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How has it tapped up/ played?
No idea mate as it’s not mine. I assume it plays like any other Kook which will be pretty decent but that’s a muted point pricing is crazy and if you are going to sell and market it as top grade you can’t send this out
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Just a money making scheme
Be transparent about why it’s priced that way , performance or looks .
Seems like better pricing on eBay these days with some decent bats if you find the right sellers . Talking about buying a branded bat, there’s of course options to go for forum bat makers here who I’m sure would do a nice bat
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Millichamp and Hall now have three price points for bats: £535, £650 and £795. :o
Don't forget the additional £35 charge if you want to change from Black or White labels to coloured labels... :D
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Don't forget the additional £35 charge if you want to change from Black or White labels to coloured labels... :D
I know their market is people with more money than sense but come on...
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Maybe their bats are 'graded on performance' and the ping on this is ceiling damaging!!! :D
How has it tapped up/ played?
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To be fair, GN made me a Pro bat this year (Alex made) that cosmetically looked awful, 7 grains, massive knot/mark right in the hitting area and huge knot/mark on the back,but it hands down has the best performance I’ve ever had.
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So what's the mystery ingredient? Are you sure fair is the right word?
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I was in the same boat that everyone would be in when I received the bats. Visually unappealing, immediately spoke to them and their first response was you obviously haven’t tapped them up yet. Sure enough, they were guns. In a retail environment I most likely wouldn’t have even given them a second look. As a confessed grain whore I’ve been converted is all I’m saying. I guess bat performance is a multi variable thing, but manufacturers have a decent idea as they save most of the elite stuff for the pros.
Going forward I’m definitely not putting all my stock into grains…
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I don't really understand the 'priced on performance' thing. If you're paying top dollar, Grade 1/G1+/Pro willow prices, surely you should get a bat that looks like a G1/G1+/pro willow bat? (Whatever that is). Otherwise, you're just paying for a Grade 3 which pings, as all G3s should anyway.
I'm not saying grains are important, but it's the only way you can really price bats imo. I think there's a lot of Emperor's new clothes in the cricket bat world and people being sold things on good marketing which they want to believe and sometimes, just straight up bulls*@t tbh. Not meaning anyone in particular here, just in general.
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Big GN reveal today!
Can't wait....(although not a big fan of those Neocore batting gloves decals shown on their instagram account if that is their retail product)!
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Conversely I've also had bats that are stunners to look at and priced as G1 accordingly, but a bit of a plank in reality. Not mass produced stuff either, I've had one from a bat maker highly rated on here that I found very underwhelming.
A good friend ordered a bat from a bat maker who is very much recommended on here, looked great but performs terribly. So bad in fact that when he sold the bat on, the chap he sold it to demanded a refund as it had no ping at all. Shame as I have a bat from the same place and I think it's the best bat I've had in years!
Back on topic... Looking forward to the GN announcement, I'm interested to see how well the neocore bats sell especially if the pricing is the same as they announced a month or so ago
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@Jm105 - I've had those as well. "Pro" grade, custom made bats from a popular maker on here, 8/9 dead straight grains with no marks at all that were absolute planks.
Back on topic - Not fond of the GN Ventus stickers, looks a similar spec to Tempesta.
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Hypernova became the Tempesta which became the Ventus, as far as I can see?
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Hypernova became the Tempesta which became the Ventus, as far as I can see?
Wasn't the Hypernova flat face and Tempesta curved face?
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Wasn't the Hypernova flat face and Tempesta curved face?
From the marketing blurbs, Hypernova was a "flatter" face for a "more powerful profile" (though it doesn't say what it's flatter than), Tempesta "semi-rounded for increased profile".
Can't say I notice a huge deal of difference, though the Tempesta stickers were nicer, but it's clearly a popular shape and ticks a lot of boxes for UK based cricketers.
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The other day there was a chaos on insta on wcw site
They are circa 750 I think and it looked like a g4 ..
They grade their Chaos based pretty much only on density of the wood I believe, as in they pick out the lowest density clefts and reserve them to be Chaos'.
Not sure about the other grades and a mate bought a reserve Orca, later asked for another one to be made in the next grade up (another £140!!!) and it came back smaller and heavier
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Really slow release from GN all day
Just get on with it ...
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tempesta vs ventus - looks the same.............. even the write ups are as good as the same.
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Quite a fan of the Stratos stickers! A nice change on classic Nics
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Touch of the Elite about it.
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Shows what sells bats to the masses, mainly stickers and branding. Would a side on profile shot not be useful?! 😆
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"superior weight distribution" does that mean this is the SBLH model?
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Shows what sells bats to the masses, mainly stickers and branding.
There wouldn't be new ranges every year if it wasn't.
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So none of GNs marquee England or Pakistan players are using the new, revolutionary bats then?
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I understood that the Neocore was a great way to use wood that was too heavy for bats.... so its a way of GN being able to use more of the willow (that is in shorter supply) so this should reduce costs as less waste. I suspect the Neocore wont be cheaper but we will see.
No side angles on the shots etc. We want details.
I dont get GN releasing all these different bats every year MAAX, HYPERNOVA, TEMPESTA, VENTUS and their brothers/sisters. I find it all a bit odd.........
........ especially as of all the big brand bat makers I have used over 40 years GN are the single make that I have NEVER had a poor performance from (Grades 1 - 3)
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There wouldn't be new ranges every year if it wasn't.
Yeah I get that, just thought a side profile would help but shows most people probably buy on stickers.
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Quite a fan of the Stratos stickers! A nice change on classic Nics
"Stratos - The sky is NOT the limit" :D - who came up with that?
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Any news about the new ranges of GN softs?
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Those Stratos labels must be incredibly close to the MCC limits on label designs......
"B.6 Commercial identifications - these identifications may not exceed 0.008 in/0.02 cm in thickness. On the back of the blade they must occupy no more than 50% of the surface. On the face of the blade, they must be confined within the top 9 in/22.86 cm, measured from where the bottom of the grip as defined in B.2.2 and B.2.4, would finish."
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Yeah I get that, just thought a side profile would help but shows most people probably buy on stickers.
We're on the same side. ;)
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Kusal Mendis using a Ventus stickered bat today vs NZ in Galle - stickering doesn't look too bad on screen.
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I know it doesn't change much but love their classic range.
Interested to see the retros for 25.
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Couple of the new Gems kicking about in some of the Women's World Cup promo photos, softs look very nice.
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I saw a subtle Instagram post from Kookaburra this morning and their 2025 range appears to be out:
(https://i.postimg.cc/g2FJyHhM/Screenshot-20241102-081321-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FKhH8FD3/Screenshot-20241102-081344-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mgYrm1NT/Screenshot-20241102-081352-Chrome.jpg)
(http://Https://i.postimg.cc/JhKzLw2g/Screenshot-20241102-081409-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/sXXDf6F2/Screenshot-20241102-081416-Chrome.jpg)
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I saw a subtle Instagram post from Kookaburra this morning and their 2025 range appears to be out:
(https://i.postimg.cc/g2FJyHhM/Screenshot-20241102-081321-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/FKhH8FD3/Screenshot-20241102-081344-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/mgYrm1NT/Screenshot-20241102-081352-Chrome.jpg)
(http://Https://i.postimg.cc/JhKzLw2g/Screenshot-20241102-081409-Chrome.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/sXXDf6F2/Screenshot-20241102-081416-Chrome.jpg)
Their full ranges seem to be on their website with RRP, including softs.
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At least one new bat in the 2025 Chase range according to their insta feed, but not sure if Finback has been dropped?
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I noticed the fairly quiet Kookaburra post too. Nothing jumping out at me as being radically different this year. I've got 2024 Ghost Pro softs, and they're really good.
But the new top of the range Ghost Players gloves have a whacking great big bit of plastic over the end of the fingers! https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/ghost-players-batting-gloves (https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/ghost-players-batting-gloves)
I know I don't need this level of protection at my level, but it looks a bit clunky to me. Maybe they feel fine though when wearing. And I always appreciate attempts at doing things a bit differently (although am I imagining something similar back in the 80s or 90s?!).
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I noticed the fairly quiet Kookaburra post too. Nothing jumping out at me as being radically different this year. I've got 2024 Ghost Pro softs, and they're really good.
But the new top of the range Ghost Players gloves have a whacking great big bit of plastic over the end of the fingers! https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/ghost-players-batting-gloves (https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/ghost-players-batting-gloves)
I know I don't need this level of protection at my level, but it looks a bit clunky to me. Maybe they feel fine though when wearing. And I always appreciate attempts at doing things a bit differently (although am I imagining something similar back in the 80s or 90s?!).
I think they just swapped the top end 2024 Kahuna gloves over to the Ghost colourway for 2025 (same design with the armour shield over the fingertips). Design also present on several of the SG gloves from 2024.
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Have the 2025 New Balance shoes been posted yet?
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its slightly disappointing that kooks softs are now all the same just different colours, would love to see them bring back the sausage gloves - the pros all seem to use them in various colours so there must be more demand than just me?
https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353 (https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos)
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its slightly disappointing that kooks softs are now all the same just different colours, would love to see them bring back the sausage gloves - the pros all seem to use them in various colours so there must be more demand than just me?
https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353 (https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos)
sadly these kooka softs are rarer than gold, had mates 50-60% spono by them getting turned away when they ask for white out kooka pads or the players gloves
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its slightly disappointing that kooks softs are now all the same just different colours, would love to see them bring back the sausage gloves - the pros all seem to use them in various colours so there must be more demand than just me?
https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353 (https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos)
I think there are sausages variants available in Australia. Whilst they have the same line names, their products for the softs are different, including the colour schemes.
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looks like they are player issue only, ive managed to get a few pairs in the past but rarer than rocking horse s##t these days
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Anyone who is "50-60% spono" deserves to be turned away.
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At least one new bat in the 2025 Chase range according to their insta feed, but not sure if Finback has been dropped?
Now called F-16
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its slightly disappointing that kooks softs are now all the same just different colours, would love to see them bring back the sausage gloves - the pros all seem to use them in various colours so there must be more demand than just me?
https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353 (https://www.espncricinfo.com/photo/josh-inglis-scored-quickly-1458353)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/glenn-maxwell-325026/photos)
https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos (https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/alex-carey-326434/photos)
The UK SG range have a very very good set of sausage finger gloves. Range has stayed the same due to the ongoing softs saga
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I think they just swapped the top end 2024 Kahuna gloves over to the Ghost colourway for 2025 (same design with the armour shield over the fingertips). Design also present on several of the SG gloves from 2024.
Yes correct. Ghost now have all the glove models through the range
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Now called F-16
Looks like Chase are trying to appeal to the US market by naming their ranges after USAF planes! F-16 and the A-10 in the range for 2025. Will they bring out a Blackbird soon?
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For the record, Kookaburra UK 2025 here
https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/cricket/collections/ (https://www.kookaburrasport.co.uk/cricket/collections/)
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interesting take on a g2 from kookaburra? almost downplaying it but then charging 400£+ for it? is it possible the parameters for G2&3 have been slightly blurred?
WILLOW TYPE - Grade 2 – These bats will have around 6 grains on the face with potentially more red wood than the 1.1. The grains will not necessarily be straight & there will be some specks or butterfly marks on the grains on the face of the bat; however, they represent excellent value for money & are ideally suited to the Club player.
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interesting take on a g2 from kookaburra? almost downplaying it but then charging 400£+ for it? is it possible the parameters for G2&3 have been slightly blurred?
WILLOW TYPE - Grade 2 – These bats will have around 6 grains on the face with potentially more red wood than the 1.1. The grains will not necessarily be straight & there will be some specks or butterfly marks on the grains on the face of the bat; however, they represent excellent value for money & are ideally suited to the Club player.
If I paid for a G2 and got something matching that description I'd never be buying one again.
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re the grading.... i do not think there is any common ground on grading whatsoever. different companies have different ideas - both global brands and small independents. some generous, some very iffy. you have to look at the bat and make your mind up. i do not believe those who say they just go with the JS Wright grade.
apols for deviating off main subject
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re the grading.... i do not think there is any common ground on grading whatsoever. different companies have different ideas - both global brands and small independents. some generous, some very iffy. you have to look at the bat and make your mind up. i do not believe those who say they just go with the JS Wright grade.
apols for deviating off main subject
But that's the thing with grading, it's subjective. Even if you were using a set std, it's still open to interpretation as there are so many variables in willow
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strangely the G4 sounds more appealing than the g2? someone in kooks marketing needs a word in their ear
WILLOW TYPE - Grade 4 – The grain structure will be similar to the ‘Players’ with potentially 5 grains visible on the face; however, there will be more stain in the wood making these bats less attractive visually but again performance will not be impacted.
Grade 3 – the most extensively used grade of blade which offers excellent value for money. A Grade 3 blade may have up to half the face in a tint/red wood colour, but this does not affect playability. This grade will have around 5 to 6 grains on the face that may not be that straight and there is likely to be some specks or butterfly marks on the grains on the face of the bat.
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The 2025 Wisden Magazine cricket bat reviews are out now. 😋😋
https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/the-wisden-cricket-monthly-bat-test-2025 (https://www.wisden.com/cricket-news/the-wisden-cricket-monthly-bat-test-2025)
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Lovely write up for GN and Alex H.
@thebigginge