Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Custom Made => Topic started by: Beachcricket on July 19, 2010, 08:55:33 PM
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Julian Millichamps new range of bat shapes are on his website, look similar with a few more curves.
http://www.screamingcat.com.au/
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lovely looking shapes series 3 is me but my god his soft look so poor
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Think he may realise his bats are world class so will let the other brands spend time,money and effort on the soft goods side of things as it's a flooded market already.
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i see laver have upped there soft goods this season..
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I have the top end gloves and pads and they are excellent as good as any I've ever had, the pictures don't do them justice but its all about the bats and the softs are a added side line but they are very very good.
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sorry rich not for me all this kevlar and the top hats are medievil .
good to see you around rich llad hope the family are fine bud
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I'm a very very modern man bud but if a style ain't broke then don't fix it, traditional shape pads and gloves made from quality materials and they are light and the fitting is superb that's why i bought them. Too much of the modern stuff has too much going on and they simply try too hard on making the products look different which compromises other areas like fitting.
I'm all about the fitting the size the comfort and weight, that's why I'm very very fussy regarding pads and gloves come and have a look at the amount of slightly used LH gear i have around. I'm not a brand person as in not everything needs to match like some people. Yes i do have a scat bat pads and gloves however no other brand in 20 years has got me to part with my money on a full kit.
Currently wear the top end morrants which are by far the best pad on the market ( obviously just my opinion ) but i simply love them. Gloves well that's perhaps a bit different as i don't have any of my own brand left so I'm using the GN Powerbow test gloves which are OK i guess but i have a problem in finding suitable gloves.
Each to there own bud but the old saying don't knock something until you have tried it, few years back i wouldn't of even tried say morrants and Aero but once you try something it can change your mind forever.
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With out wanting to be banned for committing a sacrilegious statement but... I ask this now as my CB World cup predictor is telling me in a few weeks we may be looking at a Laver Scat final and I want to know...
Why are screaming cat bats held in such awe?
This isn't meant to be a slight at the pod master or to say they Mr Millichamp doesn't make a wonderful bat, but more what is it about his pressing and shaping that makes his bats apparently "better" that other makes?
Or is it that as they are expensive no one would dare admit they have bought a plank.
Largely the same goes for a Laver Bat too.
having said that Aytek seem to be giving SCAT a good run for it's money today...
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yeh cant say they is anything special about the profiles of the ones i have, normal sized edges and a fairly basic profile...lots of wood behind the middles of them though.
Not sure about the pressing as im guessing it would be done at his premesis in NZ, price wise yes they are very steep!
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Screaming Cat and Laver offer a custom service and the ability to talk to the batmaker, that seems to rate very highly as I think people are more predisposed to spending a large amount on a bat if they think they are getting something special. Of course every single bat is pressed by hand and this should be the biggest indicator of performance so it comes down to this in my opinion.
I should also add that a very high price tag will convince a lot of people that it is a very high end product.
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Screaming Cat and Laver offer a custom service and the ability to talk to the batmaker, that seems to rate very highly as I think people are more predisposed to spending a large amount on a bat if they think they are getting something special. Of course every single bat is pressed by hand and this should be the biggest indicator of performance so it comes down to this in my opinion.
I should also add that a very high price tag will convince a lot of people that it is a very high end product.
Having bought a Laver, even though it's the "cheaper" one, I think it's a good bat, with an excellent middle, however, it's not massively better than a couple of others I have used. I'd suggest that buying from some of the pod shavers on here where you can visit and physically feel what's going on is probably just as effective as going to Laver or Millichamp. And you won't be paying the enormous sum of money involved in getting a grade 1 willow bat with their name on it and getting it shipped halfway around the world.
I'd say that my Laver certainly isn't a plank, but it's not as beautiful as I was expecting and although it does go like stink, it's not quite as good as I was expecting. Having said that, it scored me 40* off about 10 balls in a six aside tournament, so I cant'really complain....
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In my opinion there is very little difference between all of the top range bats. I think its down to the pressing in the main. Can there be a massive difference in the pressing??
All top end bats are apparently pressed to perfection.
I think you r paying for the stickers and the name more than anything else?
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Agreed on the fact that most top of the range bats are now very similar. I guess its just a fact that some companies will regard pressing as key and will get the best performance and durability out of a bat, and others wont.
Does Millichamp even press his own bats as I know he gets his willow from here when he visits in the winter, was unsure whether he does it himself or leaves it to another, larger manfuacturer?
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This CB World Cup is very interesting and shows how persuaded we are by brandsand their apparent reputation of being the best. Bats made by exactly the same person have gone out first round whereas brand under another guise will probably go all the way.
As for the Laver you had Tim, what were you expecting? How much better do you expect a Laver to be than another brand considering they're made from the same raw materials to a very similar shape?
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Tom, surely as the best marketed brand out there you should be very happy that marketing works?
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We lost out to Gray Nicolls, so must try harder!
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But you beat Piri Piri.....
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Mike, is that meant to be a compliment?
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I'm not sure, to be honest I was surprised that GN beat Mongoose so just trying to be positive in a tongue in cheek manner.
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I`ve tried various bats over the years and will be buying more this winter. Surely it`s about what suits your style of play and what you are comfortable with. At the risk of being heretical, is there really a great deal of difference between a group of batmakers, in terms of the quality of their products?
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Jeff, you just threw this topic wide open :)
Everyone on this forum will argue/agree that all batmakers are different. However I'd say theres no substitute for experience, rob pack blueroom/puma, julian millichamp screaming cat etc. whereas others may think the latest additions are better suited to providing the weapons for the modern game. Matt hell4leather is making some awesome blades by the looks of things. The truth is all manufacturers and companies are different and from personal experience I think the better bats I've had have all been from the 'smaller' sorry guys, pod shavers and brands with the exception of one (newbery) but that speaks for itself really. The less publicised brands build a positive reputation by letting there products do the talking, not a big named pro (who coincidentally probably had his bat made by the little guy before sending it to the shelf companies for stickering) there's no better place than this forum for setting that example.
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well said prowannabe88. I just received my chase 175 and the craftsmanship is beyond brillant. It kills my GN, Impala and puma bats.
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Well I have had a scat pro really nice blade and pick up for the size just could not get on with the handle and currently got a keeley sachin and is a beaut
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Having been on a bit of a bat buying spree over the last couple of months, the one's I've been most impressed with in terms of craftmanship (prior to getting them in the nets) are a H4L Excel, a M&H S6 and a Lekka (English-made). When I get them in the nets I'll have a better idea of what I have though.
Having said that, my GN Xiphos PP still goes like a train, even though it's starting to show it's age.
the latest additions are better suited to providing the weapons for the modern game
That may be true, but how many of us really play a "modern game"? I for one still play the way I always did, which is generally trying hard not to get out early on so that I can smack the ball about a bit later!
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what i meant by modern game was the scoring is quicker across every format and bats seem to be getting bigger and bigger with the less 'traditional' profiles. i've just bought a uk Lekka cannot wait for nets to start so i test it.
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what i meant by modern game was the scoring is quicker across every format and bats seem to be getting bigger and bigger with the less 'traditional' profiles. i've just bought a uk Lekka cannot wait for nets to start so i test it.
Yes, the profiles have definitely changed. I'm not sure that the bats are getting bigger though. I suspect they are just changing shape as the average bat generally is less than 3lb, even for the pros, whereas going back 100 years, the bats definitely weighed more (4lbs!!!). There may also be a difference in pressing compared with years back, and I reckon that the other big change is marketing and freebies. How many of the cricketers in the early 1900s got free bats and how many bought their own? HOw does that change through the 20th Century? Is there a pattern to the development of the cricket bat that links to this?
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Yes, the profiles have definitely changed. I'm not sure that the bats are getting bigger though. I suspect they are just changing shape as the average bat generally is less than 3lb, even for the pros, whereas going back 100 years, the bats definitely weighed more (4lbs!!!).
not really - in the 1920-60's batsmen used bats around 2lbs 1 or 2 only. Imagine tring to hit one out of the oval like Gibert Jessop did with a match stick...
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person i saw the other week said he used a 2lbs 4 and was amazed by the size of a bat with 30mm edges that i showed him....also his bats he got from GN cost 7 shillings or something lol
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Never heard of anyone using a 4 on bat
especially not that long ago
probably heaviest in the eighties with the west Indians and also botham et al
undoubtably lighter bats encourage comtilled stroke play and adjusting to unpredictable bounce etc
does annoy me this search for huge heavy bats when nippers should really be concerned with perfecting their craft rather than launching it into row z
onviously it feels great to smash cricket balls and equally great to watch them being smashed
pros tend to use 2 10 max and LIGHTER
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Depends on the player as gayle uses 3lb and sachin 2lb12 but most use lighter to help with bat speed plus played against a guy other year who had a 4lb or late 3lb cji fatso plus irani used a near 4lb in t20 didn't he
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Surely a bats weight is relative to the level and speed of bowling you are facing. You will struggle to pull, cut or hook when facing anyone bowling over 75mph if you are using a bat over 2.12. I use a different weight when opening and another if I bat at 5.
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irani used a near 4lb in t20 didn't he
Irani used 3lbs 4oz. I know this because:-
1. I brought one of his bats from the Morrant Shop back in 2007. He'd retired early in the season and didn't get to play T20, but the bats were prepped already, so they slapped a Dukes Custom Ton label on. Cracking bat but far to heavy for me, even after I got the weight taken down to 2'13.
2. He said on ITV IPL coverage this year :).
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Interesting
it doesn't surprise me that player use heavier bats for t20 and especially so a few years ago
irani is a very big guy who was a bit of a slogger so probably perfect for him
there will always be exceptions but in normal cricket players generally use lighter bats than you'd think and on the lighter side of most bats on here
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end of day if mat can make bats like this
(http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae186/yabby21/4.jpg)
at 2.9!
who wants a heavy bat!
if we had the chance to get such big bits of wood at light weights we would be just so happens that if we want big bats like that they will be 2.12 2.13
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Beuties
are these hell for leather? These are pro bats?
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end of day if mat can make bats like this
([url]http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae186/yabby21/4.jpg[/url])
at 2.9!
who wants a heavy bat!
if we had the chance to get such big bits of wood at light weights we would be just so happens that if we want big bats like that they will be 2.12 2.13
im with you there mate, these were the images that almost made me part with some money earlier this season
great looking bats
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those bats are stunning. i'd happily pay the money for one of thise bad boys.
got a tax rebate today but the mrs wants a place so i'm not allowed to spend it :( boo hoo
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lucky boy!!! im waiting for one of them but think i cud be waiting a while :(
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got to see if it clears first. was going to pay for my gear and get another bat but our lass kicked off big time lol.
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haha dont over-do it mate...u shouldnt have told her u got some cash back!!! lol ;)
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As for the Laver you had Tim, what were you expecting? How much better do you expect a Laver to be than another brand considering they're made from the same raw materials to a very similar shape?
Just seen this Tom. As I'd had it supposedly custom made, based on my height and batting style, I was expecting it to suit me better than it did. Raw material wasn't the issue. It was more that the shape wasn't quite right for me (as I've said many times before). Not a plank, but neither quite what I was expecting from a custom. Such is life, and next time I'll make sure that I'm much more careful in how I spec the thing up!
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Julian makes a great bat! Everyone should have one at least once in their career!