A bit overdue and I have mentioned this once but not in a proper review so here goes. Since moving down south again a couple of things struck me. Firstly, how much better the decks where to bat on. I even played on a deck where the ball came on to the bat, after 5 years in Yorkshire that was a true shock!. The other thing, which I blame Reds for entirely, is my new clubs deck being a bit on the low side. Reds was also making noises about me batting up the order, not helped by me scoring 80 odd in a Sunday game (same one Reds had his skull fractured by a little kid). Anyway it got me thinking, low pitches and some quicker bowling might need a bat change. Though I prefer higher middled bats and my Icon+ did a terrific job, I thought a lower middled bat might be required. I also felt it had to be lighter to combat the not so good pickup and quicker bowling. I was searching through the threads and came across an Ayrtek, incredibly still for sale. It had 40mm edges, not much spine or concaving and weighed just 2.65oz with 1 grip. My current bats are around 2'9-10 but with higher middles and better pickup. In terms of pickup it should work well. After some PM's I met up with Tom and splashed the cash. Pics below:-
I've knocked it in now and feels pretty responsive. The middle is a bit lower, but not to low as to render it useless on a higher bouncing deck. The handle was a little thin, but I'm playing around with the setup. 2 grips helps the pickup but feels a touch thick in my hands. Hopefully, once I net I'll be able to post a more thorough review. Looking forward to having a hit and using the extra bat speed.