Hi guys, returned home from a couple of days up north with work to a lovely little brown box containing this little beauty. I have been impressed with what i have seen comming from Paul over recent months and decided to add one of these to my collection. Mt brief was quite simple really 2.9, standard Aldred profile and a long driving area with a mid placed middle, flat face and 30mm edge sixe minimum. Here is my brief review
This is the entry level silver sovereign, picked mainly as i prefer the stickers lol. I have also heard that these perform regardles of the model
Finish- The bat is finished well, the sanding has had good attention paid to it, the toe is rounded nicely and as Paul as stated that he has invested some time and money into perfecting the finish this is evident in this bat. This has a flat face and 31mm edge size at maximum size 7/10
Pick Up - This is for me the best thing about this bat, i was a little worried that with the bat having quite a large swell and quite a big ass that it would be bottom heavy. I could not have been more wrong. The feel in the back lift is almost non existent, i know its only a 2.9 but is one of the best in my collection for pick up and feel in the hands. Only beaten by my Salix bats which were all over twice the price of this bat 9/10
Looks - this is a entry level bat from Aldred and i believe to be grade 2. There are 6 straight grains and some heartwood towards the edge and a single blemish towards the top sticker but better than a lot of the offerings i have seen from GN,GM,KOOK and some other bigger brands at entry to mid level price points 7/10
Performance - This is only based on hitting the bat with a mallet and tapping the ball up on the bat. The middle is very long and runs from approx 2 inches from the toe up the full extent of the blade up to the scuff sheet line. The bat has a lovely soft sound and has been pressed very very well, the seam has hardly marked the blade and i believe this will only need a couple of hours knocking in before i can use in nets against some slow bowling to get this match ready.
Here are some pic's



