I guess it is important for everyone to rationally examine whether or not it makes sense to buy an expensive bat. I can't answer for others, but I can share my thoughts on the matter which may well be very wrong. I play low level cricket for fun and recreation here in the U.S.. Odd? Yes, but I did a Master's degree at a university in the UK long ago and fell in love with the game, and my wife is from Guyana so we have a ready and eager pool of players here. Clearly, I don't need a high quality bat for "performance improvement". To think that would be to fall victim to the marketing traps so often found in golf, where 30 handicappers buy the latest driver and the same balls Tiger Woods uses. Nor would I buy one for all of the vanity/ stupidity reasons that are very common here in the U.S., like "I deserve the best," or to show off that one can afford the best.
So, why? I will draw an analogy to fly fishing. I grew up fly fishing as a boy in the High Sierras. I now use exclusively bamboo rods that are made by small scale individual makers from places as disparate as Sweden and Alaska. I enjoy the interaction with the maker, and the beauty of a rod made from natural and not space age materials. I admire the craftsmanship and the effort that has gone into mastering the craft. Fishing with a bamboo rod is just a different experience---yes, I would get more fish if I threw a grenade in, and I would probably catch the same amount of fish with a cheap rod; but experience is more than mere results. There is also pleasure in learning and experimentation---rods, like bats, can be very different and made to suit different people or situations.
This is why I don't mind getting a hand made, English willow bat that costs more and will make little practical difference in my score. It enhances my cricket experience to have something beautiful made by an individual, rather than something churned out in a sweat shop, or by a machine. In my cricketing world I enjoy the lunch, the tea, watching my sons play, the camaraderie with the other players, the light, the sun, the breeze, the fact that the clock goes largely unheeded; and so why not have a beautiful bat that reminds me of England? I also enjoy thinking about bats, the theories behind the designs, the endless quest for the perfect fit---all this can be as valuable as an extra yard of distance. Just some of my impractical reasons.
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Topic: Much of a muchness (Read 4810 times)