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[Nickauger]

Have a word with him when you go down. You never know, he might knock some off for buying all at once.

[thecord]

Yes it's definitely worth asking if he will do you a package deal. I got a pair of the pads which seem nice, not worn them yet though. The gloves felt excellent and I would have bought a pair had I not picked up a new pair of ss gloves only a couple of months before.

[gdb19]

Just spoke to Gary and my bat is all ready and will be posted to me today. Should come tomorrow or Wednesday so I can't wait. I'll put some pics up when it arrives.

Thanks for the posts about pads/gloves, I decided my current pads and gloves were still good so thought I'd make them last a bit longer. Will probably pick up some new stuff next year.

[gdb19]

My redback arrived today and it looks to be a monster.

It's a 3lb premium and when compared to my 2lb12 puma tribute 4000 it's significantly bigger all round. I've managed to wave it around in the house without smashing anything and the pick up feels good. Edges are 37mm thick (only had a 10p coin to show on the pics for scale) and overall I'm really pleased.

Have tried to add some pics below

[justnotcricket86]

Bloody hell that's huge!!

[Johnny]

Looks like you could do some damage with that!

[johan95]

Really nice bat there hope it goes well for you!

With the grips and thicker bottom hand I use a chevron grip underneath and then a GM Shock Absorba grip on top, it does the same thing I think...!

What was the motivation to buy a premium as opposed to a premier/LE? Just out of interest...

Not seen many of the lower grade Redbacks but this looks good too :0

[gdb19]

Gary did sort out the half grip for the bottom hand underneath for me which was good of him. He also stuck on an antiscuff sheet too.

As I'm not that good a batsman and currently only play midweek cricket I decided that I couldn't really justify the more expensive bats but thought I'd be better off getting a premium redback instead of an off the shelf make.

I gave up playing for about 10 years until a couple of years ago when I was 31 and started midweek again. After never really scoring any runs when I was younger I've had three fifties and a couple of other decent scores in 2 years so I'm hoping this bat (and trying to play straighter) can only help.

[gdb19]

Forgot to add that another reason for buying the premium was the info on this page

http://www.cricketbatwillow.com/blades.php

It suggests that the difference in willow grades is mainly appearance and not necessarily performance which is something I didn't really know, I'd always assumed a grade 1 bat would play better. It also suggests that more grains may mean the bat might not last as long, not an issue if you can afford a new bat each year but I'd like mine to last a few years.

When I contacted Gary I told him I wasn't worried too much about appearance and how the bat performs means more to me. I've got a game on Sunday so I can't wait to try the bat out.

[gdb19]

I used the redback today and I'm very impressed. Chasing 134 to win me and my brother had an unbroken partnership of 90 to win the game with me ending on 47 not out.

Despite being far bigger and a fair bit heavier than my old 2lb12 puma the new 3lb redback didn't feel any heavier and picked up well. Hit a few big sixes including one massive pull over widwicket to win the game but even deft little late cuts pinged away.  Overall really impressed and can't wait to use it again next year.

 

[gdb19]

Thought I'd add a quick update to this now I've had chance to use the bat more. It's absolutely brilliant and definitely the best bat I've ever had. I looked up some of my old stats from playing in a northern league 2nd team and I only scored 77 runs in 18 innings as I was a pretty bad batsman batting 9/10/11. I've used the redback in 7 games now and scored 223 runs at an average of about 37 - for most people on here probably not that great but for me it's a massive improvement. I'm finding that I get away with poor shots a bit more due to how good the bat is and when combined with the tips I've picked up on here I feel a lot happier about my batting.

Everyone that sees this comments on how chunky it is and how well it picks up. Overall I can't recommend Gary and redback enough so if you're thinking of getting one go for it. Just be aware that it's not like buying from a shop and may take a little longer but it's worth the wait.

[petehosk]

Well done! Great improvement indeed, and looks like a rocket of a bat. 

[gdb19]

Thanks Pete, I don't play at a great standard now which helps but I'm generally trying to be more sensible and play straighter. I've even hit a couple of cover drives for 4 which is pretty much unheard of for me.

The tips from buzz and others have made a difference too.

[petehosk]

The likes of Buzz are incredibly helpful! He gave my some tips at the batoff....although his main tip was, "Take up bowling!" 
The Stig gave me soem tips, but he is a quiet fella, so sign language normally!

[Redback Cricket]

WE ARE BACK!

We are over the moon to be announcing that we are back up and running. We have just released our new range - 'The Phoenix'. You can view pictures of the Phoenix on our Facebook and Instagram pages. For orders/enquiries please contact sales@redbackcricket.com