Hi guys, hope you are all well.
I am new on the forum and I am currently looking for a new bat for the 2015 season. This use to be very easy as it was usually as simple as thinking GM, Gray Nics, Kookaburra... and all the other major, well known brands. I bought my current bat 7 years ago from D&P in in Cape Town and was very sceptical about buying outside of the big brands but can safely say my D&P is still going and is by far the best bat I have ever used in my almost 20 years of playing.
Now I'll try and keep it short but I am now finally in the market for a new stick and have been out of the loop on who and what is around in the world of bat making so might need some guidance from all you guys out there.
You may ask why I am not going back to D&P, well I actually ordered a bat from them last year and was bitterly disappointed. The bat was incredibly powerful and had and excellent middle, but it was far from what I asked for profile and weight wise and the finishing wasn't great at all. I have actually been trying to contact them this year as well but unfortunately I have not had a response in over n week.
Ok so what i am getting at is that there are so many new brands out there now and I don't know where to start, I am looking for a traditional shape as I am not keen on the bulgy new shapes of modern bats with massive edges which a lot of you will think is odd when i say that I am an aggressive middle order bat who likes to take on the bowling and go over the top.
Some say skip the major brands and go to smaller bat makers, some say stick to the big brands as they know what they are doing. To be honest I don't know. I have looked at Chase, Blankbats, D&P, G&M, Hell for Leather and I am nowehere closer to making a decision.
It has to be a longblade, traditional shape with a weight at 2"10-2"11. And it goes without saying playing in the UK it should have a mid to low middle that doesn't disappoint when going big. This is simply discribing my current bat which might make any other bat seem not up to standard. So it might be a matter of asking a bat maker to re-make my current or wait for D&P to get back to me eventually.
Now after all that babble I would like to know what you guys think? Any ideas, suggestions, good recommendations and good experiences with a specific bat maker or retailer, anything that will help my search for my new blade will be hugely appreciated.
Thanks.