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[Tom]

Tbh I'd say most of you have worked it out, at least from my experience.

- The bats might not look up to much, this depends on the pros preference as they don't all use the same shape.
- They perform better (but not out of this world), than the average shop bat.

The main and real difference comes from the person wielding it. They time it more consistently. Hit it harder. And maximise the potential of the bat.

[Buzz]

I knew this topic would irritate me!

does an award winning chef give away his recipes?
does a magician give away his secrets?

it is up to the bat shaver to decide what happens to his willow.
I can't believe this keeps coming up.

any way just because you have harry porters wand doesn't make to a wizard.

I have long ceased caring about whether my bat is as good as the England captains. how flat the pitch is and how good the bowlers are will make a difference as to whether I score a hundred or not.

[ppccopener]

''just because you have Harry Potter's wand doe'snt make you a magician''

that's the best line on this forum in years


marvellous.......

[langer17]

''just because you have Harry Potter's wand doesn't make you a magician''

that's the best line on this forum in years


marvellous.......

Funny you should mention that, I had someone say to me a year or so ago:

"Harry Potter's got a new wand and he doesn't know how to use it"

I genuinely laughed when I heard it as it was one of the worst sledge's I had ever heard. Just terrible, lol

[langer17]

I knew this topic would irritate me!

does an award winning chef give away his recipes?
does a magician give away his secrets?

it is up to the bat shaver to decide what happens to his willow.
I can't believe this keeps coming up.

any way just because you have harry porters wand doesn't make to a wizard.

I have long ceased caring about whether my bat is as good as the England captains. how flat the pitch is and how good the bowlers are will make a difference as to whether I score a hundred or not.

Chefs do give away recipe's in cook books

If magician's didn't give away their secrets how would new magicians learn the tricks, lol


Bit of a smart a**E I know, lol, but I deffinately see what you mean though, only those on the inside really need to know.

[petehosk]

I personally think that it's a mix! Strauss seems to have his handles shapes a special way but the bat itself seems decent but no better than some of the other bats I have. Flintoffs is lovely willow but edges are nothing special but pickup is gorgeous! I remember picking up one of cooks and it was chunky with nice pickup.
And indeed a couple of others I've experienced seem to be more interested in getting the feel and pickup spot on whereas a lot of us mere mortals seem to look at grains and edge size/profile size above anything else!
Is this because the sponsored players know that they will have a responsive piece of willow reserved for them anyway, so the only thing they really need to worry about is feel and pickup? 

[Manormanic]

Funny you should mention that, I had someone say to me a year or so ago:

"Harry Potter's got a new wand and he doesn't know how to use it"

I genuinely laughed when I heard it as it was one of the worst sledge's I had ever heard. Just terrible, lol

do you happen to look like the wizard child?  our ex opener did (even had a scar on his forehead, though not the right shape sadly) and one of the main reasons he gave up was the constant p155 taking from colleagues and opponents alike!

[jonpinson]

This thread is a load of (No Swearing Please).

I have in my hands a bat with 35mm edges and weighing in at 2.8.

That my friends is a pro bat.

And for our good mate Majid, it has "pro ping".

The only difference between us and the pros is that they put their special bats to better use.

However, if you think for one second that they would use something off the shelf, you are dreaming.

Guys like Strauss and Cook not only select the wood they want, they sit there and WATCH the bat maker make the bat. Matty Hayden, Andrew Symonds etc also do this.

To me that sounds like someone who wants the BEST competitive advantage they can get.

So all the players in the Oz dressing room are stunned at the size of Watsons bat? Well they aren't looking hard because Usman Khawaja is using a GN with 41mm edges!

I'm sure you are a nice guy at heart Vic but there really is no point spouting this utter nonsense in a place like this; people know enough about things for you to be called on it.

You have a bat of 2'8 and 35mm edges which makes it a pro bat? Well guess what. I have a bat of 2'7 and 42mm edges that was never intended for, nor will every be a pro bat in any way. Since when was a pro bat defined by size? Bats of around 2'8 and 38mm plus edges are not at all rare, as my extreme low budget bat purchases have shown recently.

I'd like to know where you source these stories because you seem pretty confident in them yet you are the only person who knows about them. I have a feeling you have fallen hook line and sinker for the sales patter of a certain elusive bat dealer.

[Canners]

JP where are you getting these cheap 'pro' bats from ?

[tim2000s]

JP where are you getting these cheap 'pro' bats from ?

Sports Direct - my Oblivion 4* had 33mm edges... and weighed about 2lb9oz.  had a lovely shark's fin too...

[peplow]

the 2'7er he refers to i think was an ebay special msr

[roco]

I have had and currently have one of these "pro bats" In my possession not much difference at all compared to other top end bats I have had

I agree with most here the difference is the bloke wielding it as I don't care how good a pros bat is if it's the wrong profile weight etc it's not good for you

[jonpinson]

JP where are you getting these cheap 'pro' bats from ?

Yeh as Tim said, SD and JJB sales, very low end GNs that turned out to be...well they do not look or perform differently to bats of 5 times their price.

[Vic Nicholas]

Hi Tom,

Firstly, I apologize for holding a contrary opinion to yours.

Secondly, I appreciate that as these test stars are all personal friends of yours who regularly pop around your place on weekends for BBQs and beer and are only too happy to give you their beloved bats to evaluate, you clearly know more about this topic than a mere mortal like myself.

Regrettably, much to my eternal stupidity, I have relied upon my own eyes seeing in pictures the bats of these stars in their own hands during a match.

Clearly, I am in the wrong, and you are right. How foolish was I not to realise that these photos are all touched up?

I am such an idiot.



Boy, if you can get a bat like Strauss with all those grains, edge width and only weighing in at 2.9 from a shop shelf...you have better retail contacts than mine.



Looks like Morgan shops at teh same place as Straussy.



Dravid must have picked this up at the local shop in Kolkata.



Cooky must have got this as a Chrissy present from his mum. She got it from the same shop as Straussy and Morgan I would reckon.



Virat Kohli is a young cricketer with Bollywood actresses dangling off each arm....he would not have got this awesome multi grainer bat personally hand crafted. Nup, he walked into a shop in Mumbai and the wily sales assistant simply grabbed the nearest bat off the shelf.

I am so relieved that cricket superstars use the exact same off the shelf bats as us mere mortals. Now all I have to do is find out where this shop is that sells this stock stuff and I too can have the pleasure of owning a stock machine made multi grainer, low desnity willow master piece like these guys.

[Vic Nicholas]

I'll take my tongue firmly out of my cheek now!

Warped Aussie sense of humour at play here folks...

In any case, I respect the fact that the majority on this forum believe (rightly or wrongly) that the bats that test players use are the same or in many cases worse than what the consumer can get off a shop shelf.

I have provided photographic evidence above which would dispell that and when I return from cricket training later, I shall provide some newspaper articles which confirm that test stars get preferential treatement when it comes to their bats.

Don't shoot the messenger guys.