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[AJ2014]

Buzz, after this post, no one will be buying another bat, any more 😀😀,
Great Post, seriously!

[six and out]

Hi all,
Thanks for all of the responses - I appreciate you all taking the time. I will try to respond to all in this single response.

In terms of grade, both are 1+ grade willow. The difference, as was explained to me, is that they do not advise the LE bat because those with 12+ grains have a very short shelf life and I suppose I was just extremely lucky that my previous high grained bat lasted a long time.

I think the profiles are the same. I don't have my old bat but I remember picking it up and it felt exactly the same. The problem, I suspect, is that the areas not in the middle are, whether short or long term, not as pingy as on the old bat so I just notice it more. It picks up beautifully. Actually, I think I notice it more because it is a new bat and I don't trust it so when I mistime one, I am looking at the bat rather than my inability to hit a proper cover drive.

I know that I tried to use it too early in a match, before it was ready, and it felt not great at all. I know this because there were strong seam marks from the new ball. I presumed that when they said they would knock it in, that it would be match ready. I learned this was not the case but it was the problem with a bat breaking mid season. This planted the seed that there was something wrong.

A few follow up questions
1. 'typically less dense' - what does that mean in terms of performance and also quite literally?
2. ' Old one feels softer' - again, what do you mean by that?
3. Why am I oiling it again? It has only been used 10 times total (net and 2 matches)
4. Mallet work - is it still valuable at this point when I have properly worked on it (after I used it too early in a match). I suppose this leads to my more general question which is do bats massively improve over a period of time.

Cheers

I have found one of the best ways to get more miles into a bat is to go to the nets with a club mate and just literally hit hundreds of underarm throwdowns.

1. It will actually help your technique as you can work on stuff like balance and head position at the same time.
2. It is a very easy way to actually feel the ball in the middle of the bat and get use to a new bat.

[bradshawt]

Cheers all - thanks for the input.

[SD]

I had a net today with a new bat that had been knocked in with a mallet but this was the first time against cricket balls.  Felt exactly the same as you describe your bat.  Ball not coming off quite as I would like, sounded a bit tinny and felt it slightly more in the hands when hitting the ball. 

I know a number of companies market their bats as being ready to play but I can genuinely only think of one bat I have used that was ready straight from the box.  Bats need to be played in to get the best from them.