Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: keysersolze on February 10, 2011, 05:56:56 PM
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Hi Guys,
Sorry to bore you but i did start a topic a while back on what bat Watson actually uses when playing after seeing him hit those monster boundaraies in the ODI a liitle while back. So I had lunch with GM today and i asked them what bat Watson used and their guys told me he used a flare plus in the ODI matches generally and depending on conditions or moods he switches between a normal flare and plus. Riddle solved and even if i get my hands on a flare plus i still wont play like him lol!!! Good to know he does actually use the Flare and not just endorse it.
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Yeah Perry, they made the Flare range as it was Watson's own profile he took to them I believe, so there is no reason for him not to endorse it as it is his preferred shape!
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But which grade?
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Of Flare? Does Watson use? Not sure what you mean by your question mate, but I would hazard a guess that there is a special batch of willow he gets made up for him, I don't think GM make his bats in England, that's a mystery, anyone know the answer as to who makes his bats??? ???
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Sorry I meant like 808 or higher as there was rumours he used an 808...
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Oh really? I do actually recall something like that being said, I doubt it though...though he obviously can use an 808 much better than us, to its maximum potential. Though I am sure he would have a lower density cleft made up for him... :)
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Well i had lunch with some GM lads today and they said he uses a standard Flare or Flare + depending on his mood/requirement on the day or whether its a ODI or test match. They have a section of special willow which is high density light weight for pro bats and that is used for pro bats. but a lot of pros pop in and just pick up as many bats as they can to see which one feels right and the stickers of the bats they endorse are put on. Nice lads the GM boys.
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gm guys are great!
in terms of looks his bats could be 808, remember them saying if a bat doesnt make the cut looks wise to be an le but is a crackerjack of a bat then they'll "give it to a pro" haha
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I heard somewhere that he uses 808s as 'they feel different'
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There bats are purely performance based sam is right there were separate pallets of grades clefts one for le one for original etc etc plus one for pro's and the grader said some looked dog ugly and would be a low grade normally but would absolutely fly so out aside for the pro's as most don't care how they look as long as they fly
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His bat;
(http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/128100/128141.jpg)
(http://www.espncricinfo.com/db/PICTURES/CMS/128100/128140.jpg)
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great pics, thanks! what ever it is, seems to work! I remember years ago hoping SW would live up to his ability after a horrific run of injuries, if he wasnt having back surgery he was having hamstring tendons reattached etc, I think they even pumped his hamstring full of cows blood or something at one stage........glad he's fit.
I'm increasingly becoming impressed with GM, IMO they have market leading technology, the CAD system obviously would give them ultimate shaping control.
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I assume that you got those pictures from gettyimages.com
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No, Cricinfo. Gettyimages pictures are always watermarked.
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I hate the watermark. I thought that you might have a gettyimages account, then the watermark wouldn't be there.
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also interesting to note the Remfry (?) not strippers
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Most players wear Remfry in games, but in the nets they generally use their sponsors thighpads, so then people see them and think that the pro's wear them, then people buy them as they think that they are using the same thighpads as the pros.
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Really? I'm not doubting what you say, I wouldn't know, carrying 2'sets of thigh pads seems a bit impractical especially when touring.
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I dont know the details, but they could just have 1 per brand in the team kit, then they just share it around with other players who are sponsored by the same company while they train. Because I have seen many wear their brand one in the nets, but in a game you can see through their pants that it's remfry. I should have said that most players do this, not all.
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Also, generally people who wear strippers in nets wear them in the game, but I'm talking about players sponsored by GM, GN, Kook, Slaz, etc...
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I use Remfry thigh pads. Best I have ever owned. Made to measure by Mr Remfry himself out of his backyard shed in South Australia. Amazing but not cheap! The pros pay for the privilege too!
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Of Flare? Does Watson use? Not sure what you mean by your question mate, but I would hazard a guess that there is a special batch of willow he gets made up for him, I don't think GM make his bats in England, that's a mystery, anyone know the answer as to who makes his bats??? ???
Oh yes we do! In Nottingham. In our own factory. Made by our own splendid people.
Kind regards
Edward
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Good to hear the boss man confirm what hi fellow GM guys told me. Also i have to say i was in the Lords shop yesterday and picked up a GM Icon 808+ and it was featherlight!!! So good bats around at the moment but they wanted nearly £200 for an 808
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Good to hear the boss man confirm what hi fellow GM guys told me. Also i have to say i was in the Lords shop yesterday and picked up a GM Icon 808+ and it was featherlight!!! So good bats around at the moment but they wanted nearly £200 for an 808
Interesting pricing difference. The Oval shop had them at £170.
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Well i guess Marlybone is kinda rich area, some lovely kit in there and the Kookaburra bats picked up superbly as did all of the bats in there really pending your preference. First chance i had to look at the Asics range of footware this year and the spikes especially the Gell advance 3 etc were featherlight made my old Asics boots seem like they weighed a ton!! Good day at Lords though watching and helping out and meeting up with disabled cricketers competing in an indoor tournament there for the visually impaired!!
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I've yet to see anything decently priced at the Lord's shop. When I was at the Pakistan - Australia test last year they still had a pair of GM Gel LE gloves from a few years back going for £70.
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There's a deal going on at the Surrey shops at the moment. Spend more than £150 and get a free net session with bowling machine (worth £45). Go buy a bat and get a free hour of testing!
Seems reasonable to me as their kit prices aren't massively removed from reality.
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There's a deal going on at the Surrey shops at the moment. Spend more than £150 and get a free net session with bowling machine (worth £45). Go buy a bat and get a free hour of testing!
Seems reasonable to me as their kit prices aren't massively removed from reality.
45 quid for a bowling machine session???
Surely you jest?
If true, that is high way robbery.
Regards,
Vic
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45 quid for a bowling machine session???
Surely you jest?
If true, that is high way robbery.
Regards,
Vic
Really? I don't think that is bad value you are booking a lane and a coach at the oval - which is pretty in demand - it will probably be about 45 mins so £60 an hour for that kind of thing is decent value if you ask me, especially as the kit there isn't massively overpriced...
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That's about the going rate we pay £32 an hour just for an indoor door net granted one of the better indoor nets about but hey
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£25 quid an hour at headingley!
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£14.50/hour at my old school, not the best but it does the job for the price.
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It's one of the better places I've been for Indoor nets. Not quite Lord's Indoor school, but decent run up, good facilities, reasonably easy to get to.
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Has anyone ever been to somewhere where they can have their full run up, that would be brilliant as that is something I would like to be working on indoors!
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Ours can do 18 yd run ups
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You've got about 18 yards in the oval as well.
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Interesting pricing difference. The Oval shop had them at £170.
Oval have one for £170 as stated here. I am there tomorrow so will have a check, but their pricing is good and the management amicable and quick to respond (on e-mail though!!) and the value is fine, £39 for an off peak BM session or £46 otherwise, that is fine considering the facilities. Though when netting with mates, we all reckoned that the Oval didn't help us as it's sports hall flooring, whereas Lords' is proper artificial flooring :) Though £44/ph at lords for just a net and £29/ph at the Oval, the Oval is way better value! :)
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To give you an idea of how much you guys are getting fleeced, I pay $180AUSD (about 112.85 pound) every three months membership and I get to use the bowling machine as much as I want.
In the off season I train 90 minutes on Tuesday's and Thursday's and for 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Each and every week without fail.
During teh season proper uin addition to my normal outdoor training with the club, I go to the centre and have two one hour sessions with the bowling machine each week.
I pay $720 per year.
I train approximately 250 hours a year with the bowling machine.
So that equates to $2.88 per hour, or if you like 1.80 pound an hour.
You guys might consider 45 quid an hour fair, I consider it thieving.
Many Victorian Sheffield Shield players and district players train where I train....so even the pros don't mind saving a quid it seems.
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That's all reasonable. None of us like paying what we do, however given the number of facilities in the area (just the one) versus the number of people trying to use it, it's unsurprisingly governed by supply!
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To give you an idea of how much you guys are getting fleeced, I pay $180AUSD (about 112.85 pound) every three months membership and I get to use the bowling machine as much as I want.
In the off season I train 90 minutes on Tuesday's and Thursday's and for 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon. Each and every week without fail.
During teh season proper uin addition to my normal outdoor training with the club, I go to the centre and have two one hour sessions with the bowling machine each week.
I pay $720 per year.
I train approximately 250 hours a year with the bowling machine.
So that equates to $2.88 per hour, or if you like 1.80 pound an hour.
You guys might consider 45 quid an hour fair, I consider it thieving.
Many Victorian Sheffield Shield players and district players train where I train....so even the pros don't mind saving a quid it seems.
I so want to live in Australia if stuff is that reasonably priced. I agree you're right in saying it is extortion, but as Tim said it is all about Supply and Demand. I am on good terms with the Assistant Manager at the KBCC so I tend to get free minutes, or pay less, but this is only occasionally...
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I so want to live in Australia if stuff is that reasonably priced. I agree you're right in saying it is extortion, but as Tim said it is all about Supply and Demand. I am on good terms with the Assistant Manager at the KBCC so I tend to get free minutes, or pay less, but this is only occasionally...
This goes back to a thread where we were talking about booking Oval nets. In general, you have to book 3-6 months in advance to guarantee your sessions. From what I understand, for any one net session midweek (Friday evenings don't count as most teams don't net then) they are oversubscribed 4 or 5 to 1, which given the price is quite shocking!
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http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/image/502986.html?page=1;object=381449
his bat in this picture looks very very Indian i just wonder if he picked some up out there
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http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/image/502948.html?object=8180
sorry here is the picture i think it is a ss
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and a better one he is defiantly using a india made bat i think....
http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/image/500577.html?object=8180;page=1
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So that equates to $2.88 per hour, or if you like 1.80 pound an hour.
You guys might consider 45 quid an hour fair, I consider it thieving.
we pay £3 each - given we have a good 12-15 people down that means probably about £40 for the hour
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I don't understand why Watson is meant to be so exacting in his bat make up with hours spent in Nottingham to make sure GM know his spec then use any old bat picked up in India..doesn't make sense?
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Because the bat people are like flies hanging around hotels and training offering top bats because they do that in India..
Many many players in the world cup andipl pick up Indian made bats over there and use them
Look very SS but then again it could be anything.
All i know is the profile of the bat he used against Zimbabwe is different to the one he is using in the latest photo's
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Funny its come back to Watsons bat again after going of topic but i was chatting to the GM guys today up in Cleethorpes about Watsons bat and they were telling me he uses a GM Flare + and it was a bat he brought with him to Gm and they basically copied it and turned it into what we know as the Flare. Nice these GM guys giving away secrets lol but i have seen a lot of bats in the past couple of years majority have been superb especially the top end stuff from England India etc. Have to say you would still have to go some to beat a redback for pick up and grains etc.
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....I used to play for Cleethorpes!
What you doing up there?..... in fact what were gunn&moore doing there?
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Funny its come back to Watsons bat again after going of topic but i was chatting to the GM guys today up in Cleethorpes about Watsons bat and they were telling me he uses a GM Flare + and it was a bat he brought with him to Gm and they basically copied it and turned it into what we know as the Flare. Nice these GM guys giving away secrets lol but i have seen a lot of bats in the past couple of years majority have been superb especially the top end stuff from England India etc. Have to say you would still have to go some to beat a redback for pick up and grains etc.
I know Edward is on here and will say it is a GM bat but i bet there a chance he could pick up a few in India and this shape in the picture look at the 2 different profiles from the NZ game and Zim game..
and that bat he is using is not
http://www.cricket-hockey.com/shop/product/9221/gm-flare-dxm-808-cricket-bat
What ever it is it looks nice
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Gunn and Moore were doing a product launch and show for some sports shop up there i was just chatting to there guys on the telephone placeing an order for kit and sorting out some other business for our players who are being considered for sponsorship.
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Do GM give Watto spare stickers to refurb his own bats? Or maybe he gets them off e-bay?
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Cleethorpes has a sports shop now... wow, it's obviously going up in the world!
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good question
and another thing the main thigh pad in the picture is not remfry
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Maybe one for Edward there eh? And how about some aftermarket stickers being sold by GM obviously in a different style or colour scheme for people to put on bats they refurb themselves. The you would instsantly know that they may be GM stickers but it does not make it a GM bat!! Though i guess its all about brand prestige!!!!
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keys you must admit the 2 bats he used are different the first looks a flame but that one in the nets looks like well my ss or most ss bats
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I have not seen it Dave the Gm guys do say he is a great guy and very exacting on his bat but they hit a button and turn out hundreds in exactly the same shape. He swithches between flare and Flare + but apparently because he is so exacting it took them a while with him to get it just right. Fair point though Dave i reckon all players have aswing with different bats though i hate anyone using or picking up my match bat!!! My hands only!!!! Though i am down to four bats from ten now!!!!!
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keys you must admit the 2 bats he used are different the first looks a flame but that one in the nets looks like well my ss or most ss bats
Funny, looking at those nets shots, I'd say exactly the opposite. Bearing in mind the effects of the lens, I think that that is a Flare. Looks nothing like an SS.
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have you seen my blank ss tim it is a carbon copy of that bat in the nets shot...
Good job it is next to me right now
As i said look at a few of his recent pictures he is definatly using 2 different profiles for sure and the toe of the bat in the net is not the same toe as a flame#
not a great picture of my bat but here goes it of me playing with it
http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=1210.180
but hey it could be anything including the real thing
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Maybe one for Edward there eh? And how about some aftermarket stickers being sold by GM obviously in a different style or colour scheme for people to put on bats they refurb themselves. The you would instsantly know that they may be GM stickers but it does not make it a GM bat!! Though i guess its all about brand prestige!!!!
funny, I was thinking the exact thing earlier, a generic GM sticker in current cosmetics but not with the model, something like 'proto' or no model name at all, simply a blank GM sticker. I think this would be a good idea and definitely would differentiate bats wearing these stickers from genuine GM bats. I'm one of those that everything has to match, im currently all GM and would certainly like to resticker my old/other bats to match the rest of my gear.
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and a better one he is defiantly using a india made bat i think....
[url]http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc_cricket_worldcup2011/content/image/500577.html?object=8180;page=1[/url]
Looks Flare-ish to me
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aye maybe just the last 2 or 3 inches of the toe looks flat in that picture but the flare looks more pointed..
Oh well maybe the jagerbombs are taking effect.
I am in training
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Lol, good luck Dave, I wish you well
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gents, I know this thread was dead and buried but perhaps I can shed some light, I'm sure Mr Lowy won't mind. Hi Edward! Shane uses GM bats made in Nottingham, they are sent to me and we deliver them to Shane. They are of course absolute premium willow like all pro's bats
and he is absolutely in love with the bats after some wrestling with the guys at NHam to get it just right (over a year ago now). from time to time when damage occurs, we have the bat/s repaired as he insists on keeping a favourite blade going. he is very fair and uses way less bats than you might imagine, especially considering the amount of cricket he plays. He's a likeable, honourable guy who I don't believe would re-sticker a bat, partly because he can have the best stick on the planet just by asking!
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Fair play Aussie steve i was told exactly the same bythe GM boys over lunch a few weeks back welcome to the forum good to have some aussie boys on the forum to join the odd tassie boy we have lurking around on here!!!
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gents, I know this thread was dead and buried but perhaps I can shed some light, I'm sure Mr Lowy won't mind. Hi Edward! Shane uses GM bats made in Nottingham, they are sent to me and we deliver them to Shane. They are of course absolute premium willow like all pro's bats
and he is absolutely in love with the bats after some wrestling with the guys at NHam to get it just right (over a year ago now). from time to time when damage occurs, we have the bat/s repaired as he insists on keeping a favourite blade going. he is very fair and uses way less bats than you might imagine, especially considering the amount of cricket he plays. He's a likeable, honourable guy who I don't believe would re-sticker a bat, partly because he can have the best stick on the planet just by asking!
Hi Steve, thanks for the first hand input, too much guessing goes on in cricket and golf forums!
Are you then an employee of GM? when you say you repair Shanes bats, can the general public also send you bats to repair refurb or do you exclusively look after the first class players? And I think you are 100% I admire Shane greatly for both having enormous courage to overcome injuries that would have caused lesser men to give it away and for also realising his tallent, which also takes courage and dedication.
best wishes.
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we are the distributor for Unicorn (inc. GM) in Australia for the last 4yrs, so not employees, but a business partner. We're lucky enough to have a wonderful, unique product to sell in a market where so many products have a certain sameness about them. While all aussie kids have some contact with cricket growing up, as did i, the learning curve over a short time has been steep. That chunk of willow is a more complex piece of kit than people realise.
We have a 3rd party repairer but our relationship with the players is always direct.
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The company is Addlon Trading Company http://www.addlon.com.au/
The guys name is Tony Zucconi who deals with Shane Watson and I have had dealings with Tony directly
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this crazy young peoples' internet is amazing, nice work johng, Tony (Mr Z) is in the room next door! Well, he's away from the office today, but you get my drift
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Say hello to Tony from John Gleeson
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hi john, certainly will,
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http://www.channel4learning.com/support/programmenotes/netnotes/program/programid1554.htm
thought this was you then John
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Much better looking than that!!!!
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we are the distributor for Unicorn (inc. GM) in Australia for the last 4yrs, so not employees, but a business partner. We're lucky enough to have a wonderful, unique product to sell in a market where so many products have a certain sameness about them. While all aussie kids have some contact with cricket growing up, as did i, the learning curve over a short time has been steep. That chunk of willow is a more complex piece of kit than people realise.
We have a 3rd party repairer but our relationship with the players is always direct.
So can we send bats to you to pass on to your 3rd party repairer to refurb / repair or not?
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yes, we use a couple of repairers, depending on workload, repair quality etc they are not exclusive to us because repairing GM bats in Australia wouldn't provide enough work to keep you employed!
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How is Tony!!!
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yes, we use a couple of repairers, depending on workload, repair quality etc they are not exclusive to us because repairing GM bats in Australia wouldn't provide enough work to keep you employed!
So if I send my GM bats to you guys for refurb/weight reduction, your third party can not only do that but re-sticker them with the penultimate ICON LE stickers and not the new model ICON stickers (which suck in my opinion)?
Thanking you in advance,
Vic Nicholas
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gents, I know this thread was dead and buried but perhaps I can shed some light, I'm sure Mr Lowy won't mind. Hi Edward! Shane uses GM bats made in Nottingham, they are sent to me and we deliver them to Shane. They are of course absolute premium willow like all pro's bats
and he is absolutely in love with the bats after some wrestling with the guys at NHam to get it just right (over a year ago now). from time to time when damage occurs, we have the bat/s repaired as he insists on keeping a favourite blade going. he is very fair and uses way less bats than you might imagine, especially considering the amount of cricket he plays. He's a likeable, honourable guy who I don't believe would re-sticker a bat, partly because he can have the best stick on the planet just by asking!
What ho Aussie Steve! Sorry to take a few days to respond but have been falling down an Alp.
Welcome to the Forum. It's a good place to be
Edward
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Ed, it's nice to see GM have entered the Twitter-sphere recently.
That said, I do get rather envious when I see photos like this on my Twitter feed.
(http://a.yfrog.com/img640/710/zpmje.jpg)
(http://a.yfrog.com/img615/8271/3uokd.jpg)
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They are all facing the wrong way :( show us the grains!! haha
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is that not the way you use them i thought i was doing something wrong
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Haha no wonder my average is dropping!! Nah just curious to see if there are any blinders in there!
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Ed, it's nice to see GM have entered the Twitter-sphere recently.
Well, we are Twits since 1885...
Hmmm, I wonder if pros are as conscious of the grain as us mere mortals???
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Would think some could be very picky, not half as picky as us though! I am more curious than envious. My favourite bat had 8 wavy grains, looked pretty poor but boy did it go!
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my fave bat had 9 wavy grains, 3 bunched very tightly in middle and rest sort of randomly spaced, not pretty, but pretty effective :D
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Speaking of GM and seeing as all the people who matter in GM land seem to be here are there any GM Purist Original LE stickers still floating around anywhere...Mine needs restickering..Probably not the place to ask but oh well this was the post I was reading at the time
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stickers are not sold my GM, or by anybody else..
all gm stickers on ebay are fakes. if you want new gm stickers and own a gm bat u can send it back to the for a referbe