Print

[smilley792]

There seems to be quite a lot of inconsistency in mallet response.  For example, we saw some stunning looking junior bats yesterday, but Chris and I agreed that they didn't respond very well off the mallet at all, so despite their good looks, we didn't take any.  They were very hard and very unresponsive.  Even in the higher grades you get bats like this: there was a Tour a bit like this as well.

And then, looks-wise, there are quite a few that have stains on them, or big blemishes right in the middle of the bat.  Fewer of these in the top grade, but still we believe these ones should be avoided.

I guess, in every batch of 500 bats, there will be 50 or so that fit this description, even from the better bat makers.  If bats are made in large numbers, the consistency of quality cannot really be retained right across the board.  That's my view anyway...

Is there not a chance said bats could open up with knocking in and a good few nets?

As for blemishes, I bought a bat from barrington, puma 6000, was instantly going back,as it has a few flaws. But then I had a play with the mallet, and it was responding awesomely(probably on par with my b3) so kept it.

[Bats_Entertainment]

  If bats are made in large numbers, the consistency of quality cannot really be retained right across the board.  That's my view anyway...

TK's quality control can't possibly be as good as it once was. How could it be?

[Vitas Cricket]

To say they have the cast offs is a little far fetched. They probably get the first batch from all the big players, and even get cricket gear that no other shops can get.

Some of them do get exclusives yes.

However, the biggest retailers do not hand pick their bats. There is only a select group of us who do. Suppliers/manufacturers know we won't take an iffy looking/performing bat, so it has to go somewhere. Do some of the big retailers get deliveries before we get access to stock? Inevitably, but the person in the picking rooms at kook or grays or wherever will definitely be slipping some of the bats they know we won't want in there.

I've seen enough iffy looking top end stuff at big retailers to know this is what is happening.

On the other side of things. GM's quality control is head and shoulders above in my opinion, this is especially important considering they do not allow handpicking by retailers. I've never seen a GM Original LE where i would go 'ooooh, i'm not sure about that' whereas i can honestly say i have seen a few top end sticks from the other brands that were not much to write home about.

[ItsJustCricket]

Is there not a chance said bats could open up with knocking in and a good few nets?

As for blemishes, I bought a bat from barrington, puma 6000, was instantly going back,as it has a few flaws. But then I had a play with the mallet, and it was responding awesomely(probably on par with my b3) so kept it.

Of course, bats can and often will open up nicely - even the hardest.  And the most unattractive bats can often be some of the best performing bats around.  But you can never be sure of this, and these are also the type of bats that many customers don't want to buy, and hence they stay on the shelf for a while, and then they get heavily discounted by the likes of Pro-Direct.  So, picking bats like this, when we could have others, is not something we wish to do.  But at least these bats find homes eventually!

[jamielsn15]

To say they have the cast offs is a little far fetched. They probably get the first batch from all the big players, and even get cricket gear that no other shops can get.

You're right - cast off's is harsh.  What I meant was what Jake has commented on - that they don't hand pick and are arguably not as particular about what they select...