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[mad_abt_cricket]

A Naive question for the experts here...

I always wonder the difference while talking about pickup and balance of a bat. Are they one and same thing ?

If they are different, please explain

[Buzz]

I think that is a great question.
the reviewers at All Out Cricket seemed to thing there is a deference, however, I have no idea what it would be!

[Cover_Drive]

I'll give it a shot.

I think pickup is when you lift the bat  in air, how it picks up for you and how it feels there.

While balance is when you tap your bat on crease and sometime put your weight on it.

Just my thought

[Buzz]

While balance is when you tap your bat on crease and sometime put your weight on it.

would that not just be testing the flexibility of the handle? surely balance has to do with the pivot point and how the bat feels when you play your shots?

[Cover_Drive]

would that not just be testing the flexibility of the handle? surely balance has to do with the pivot point and how the bat feels when you play your shots?

Haha true....I really don't know much of Physics aspect of bats but I think I will wait for Tim or Norbs so post here in particular Tim

[peplow]

for me a well balanced bat picks up well. they are essentially the same thing to me.

How can you split them apart or define individually? to me you cant..

[tim2000s]

Haha true....I really don't know much of Physics aspect of bats but I think I will wait for Tim or Norbs so post here in particular Tim

Not a lot of point in getting in to detail. They are both terms that are interchangably used in conversations about cricket bats and can be felt to be different for different bats to different people.

[petehosk]

In my eyes, balance is where the centre balance is! If it's too far one way or the other then it will affect the feel of the bat and how it picks up (top heavy, bottom heavy, etc!) If the bat isn't well balanced then it would feel almost uncomfortable and almost awkward!
And pick up I see as when I am poised with the bat raised behind me! If it's a light pickup then it will feel light when raised behind me ready to play the shot.
But balance I see as the wider picture of mixture of feel, pickup, and how it plays when going through with the shot, etc!
That's probably nowhere close to being right and total rubbish but that's my perception! 
Could really do with norbs to go through the physics side of it!

[Joe]

And pick up I see as when I am poised with the bat raised behind me! If it's a light pickup then it will feel light when raised behind me ready to play the shot.
But balance I see as the wider picture of mixture of feel, pickup, and how it plays when going through with the shot, etc!

I see it the other way round

[mad_abt_cricket]

Some really nice explanations..

Other day I was reading a Norb's post in Cricket insight, which asked what is the most important factor while buying a bat and 99% answered pickup/ balance as their first priority.

It astonishes me though that most of us ( including myself) are buying bats online  these days and not trying out physically. Obviously trusting the batmaker to make a bat with a good pickup ...

[gabbers]

agree with pete's explanation!

[tim2000s]

In my eyes, balance is where the centre balance is! If it's too far one way or the other then it will affect the feel of the bat and how it picks up (top heavy, bottom heavy, etc!) If the bat isn't well balanced then it would feel almost uncomfortable and almost awkward!
And pick up I see as when I am poised with the bat raised behind me! If it's a light pickup then it will feel light when raised behind me ready to play the shot.
But balance I see as the wider picture of mixture of feel, pickup, and how it plays when going through with the shot, etc!
That's probably nowhere close to being right and total rubbish but that's my perception! 
Could really do with norbs to go through the physics side of it!

The problem here is what do we mean by balance and pick-up.

If we are referring solely to the bat then yes, it is a fairly straightforward discussion about where the mass is relative to where you hold it and pick-up is simply perception.A bat with a very low middle and more mass on the outside edge would not be balanced.

If we are talking about it from a personal perspective then people tend to use the two for the same purpose.

[100 not out]

Does the pick up differ from person to person.ie the same bat will pick up different to a six foot batsman and a five footer.  It is an individual thing. For me balance is about wood distribution. The balance leads to the pick up.

[Mad Bobbin]

I agree with Pete Hosk......the balance is how the weight is distributed over the bat. I once had a Fusion which on the balance of the bat was completely wrong heavy to one side..........I think it was to the left........and this could be seen if you looked down the spine.  But the pick up of this bat was feather like and was extremly good off the middle. 

[norbs]

hmmm whilst I am here.... I think there is some confusion with the question here, balance / pickup I always try and aim for a point on the bat.  Ok that said they all feel different through the swing, that is what you may mean by balance.  Then you are are talking about swing weight, you can then get technical and relate pickup, pivot points, to mass moment of inertia. Then you get on to the realms of bat design and then it gets complicated for 2220hrs on a Monday night.