^ I tend to agree. From a purely performance perspective (looks don’t make a difference) then we’ve all just said, we pick out the best performing bats for our pros, no matter the grade. So would you rather have one of their rejects or what was originally left behind?
And it only makes sense that the big name players get more looked after than those with a ‘lesser’ reputation. If I was GM, I’d look after one of the best players in the world a little bit more than my county academy player. Sorry, but surely that’s just the way it is.
I’m firmly in the camp of paying for more coaching if you want to score more runs over hunting for a pro bat though.
Edited to add: there’s never an exact science of course. I know I’ve sold bats that I just didn’t get on with and seen them score loads more runs, maybe it’s just that with some of the pros. Or maybe they just want a better set of golf clubs and they have a few going spare