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[ajnabi02]

Latest Crown in production - don't normally put photo's up before I send it to the customer, so hope he doesn't mind but here are a few picture;






stats
SHAPE - Bespoke Players Profile 10
GRADE - Crown
GRAINS: Lots
WEIGHT - 2lb 6.6oz - will finish 2lb 7oz fully dressed
HANDLE - SH - thin slight oval
Stickers: ALL WHITE

Destination - AUSTRALIA

It looks huge for the weight, @The Doctor is it short blade?

[The Doctor]

So after much research and pondering, I recently opted to send some business in Streaky's direction by way of a new stick of willow. Now I'm not a bat badger - I've had my trusty Mjolnir for around a decade. But I fancied a change. And since I don't buy a bat every season, I thought I'd go for broke and opt for an ultralight Crown willow to a bespoke design. In fact, the design is based on Saad's bat that B3 produced for him a little while ago, which some of you may remember.

A bit about me: I'm not a huge chap: 5'7", weighing just under 11 stone. I either open the batting or come in down the order to shore things up. More of a strokeplayer than a power hitter, I favour the back foot but need to drive if the ball's up there.

So I was after a balanced, lightweight 'strokemaker's' bat for both front & backfoot shots, where bat speed and value for middled and off-centre shots is more important than huge 'look at me' edges. (Much along the line of thought behind Saad's bat.)

Here's the much-deliberated specs I sent to Dr.David 'Streaky' Bacon:

* Around 2lb8 with grip & stickers
* Light density cleft (or even Crown, depending on cost) for ping & performance above looks
* Pressed to extract maximum ping for the selected cleft
* Mid middle
* No concaving to the middle of the bat (to get the longest and widest middle possible)
* Gentle concaving to toe and shoulder area only (to aid pickup and to allow more wood behind middle)
* No massive edges at expense of middle
* Offset edges only if it helps lengthen the middle?
* No or very gentle bow to blade (if it helps pickup)
* Traditional thinner-shaped toe & traditional oval toe profile to help pick up (not squared-off toe shape)
* Modern flatter face with reduced radius (not entirely flat) with edges rounded off
* Since I'm 5'7", supershort oval handle (unless it adversely affects pickup)


Following a few exchanges with Streaky about his recommended cleft choice, the profile, stickers and what have you, the bat is finally in my hands.
And oh my word. It's an exquisite thing of beauty and latent power.


Vital statistics:
Crown cleft at 369 density
Max spine height of 52mm
Max edge thickness of 38mm
Weight with stickers & 1x grip 2lb 8.5oz

I wasn't going to unleash it this season, but I may give it a cheeky run out this weekend. It's just too tempting not to. 






"

Have you got a serial number for this beaut - someone has requested a replica.

Cheers, Streaky

[safeer]

Yes, Please. But with few minor tweaks