Thanks guys, it was good fun fixing it and it’s a really nice bat, so I'm glad i did! I'm planning on taking the Puma stickers off and
"buffing" it up tonight, I'll try and record it and put the video up on YouTube, because a few people have been asking about how to refurbish ect so it might help them...
I can see how dowels would make it stronger, but wouldn't a tenon joint introduce a weakness in the piece of wood you were filling the hole with?
Re dowels etc.
For this fix there is wood behind the glue line, the back of the bat is sound. It should not need a dowel, when the ball hits the repaire it will get pushed back into the wood thats not part of the repair, so it's alright. The worry is that at the bottom there not much wood so it might not be strong enough just there - time will tell.
When the crack goes right the way through then a dowel might help, but I have done fixes for crack all the way through (from front to back) with and with out dowels, normally I'll try just glue and tape first, then if it still goes add a dowel.
Addig a dowel will always make the wood "weaker", but the joint stronger. The job of a dowel in fixes like this is to reduce the force working on the glued crack when the timber is pushed back by the ball.
I've never seen a tenon joint in a cricket bat, make sure you post a picture! ;-)