Just joined this forum so decided to post my that my custom made bat from Nixon.
I bought it in 2006 and finally it is showing a some wear with a small crack in the toe, minor signs of lamination and the handle creeks like my joints in the morning. However it still goes like a proverbial train (when I occasionally time a shot) so I am tempted to find out if Nixon do a close season refurbish?
Until purchasing the Nixon I had played for 20+ years having never previously purchased a cricket bat (I was the embodiment of a No.11) so generally looked in the club kit bag for a bat. However around York at least, the concept of club bats has long gone so I was using my cousin's Kookaburra Ridgeback (2lb 7oz in the wet !!). Annoyingly I started to develop the habit of being caught between mid off and extra cover nearly every innings which was really ****** me off because I wasn't getting out to good deliveries. At the time I only possessed 2 shots which was dead bat anything on the stumps and go after anything outside off stump. Problem was I played virtually the same shot to anything outside off regardless of length which meant sometimes I didn't find the middle but rather the toe of the bat. Anything mistimed would simply loop in the air about 30 yards and into the hands of grateful off-side fielders.
Something needed to be done so I took perhaps the perverse view that changing my bat rather than my style of play was the solution. My theory behind this was that a heavier bat sporting a much lower middle would hopefully see my mistimed shots clear orthodox fielders stationed between mid off to extra cover.
I checked out 2-3 local sports shops but none of the brand name bats had wood where I wanted it so having see some Nixon's in our league, I phoned Mr Nixon and asked if he would make me a custom bat to my specific requirements. Given his positive reply I then drove the short distance from to Malton to give Nick my specific details (2lb 14oz to 3lb) and returned perhaps a week or so later. However when I saw the bat he initially presented to me, I was a bit disappointed as it was not much different to the shop bats but as luck would have it, he had another bat (98% finished) that was exactly what I was looking for. Nick was happy to sell me that bat at the previously agreed price of £140 and I have been using it ever since.
I suspect some of you are wondering if this idea of mine actually worked? I would say yes as my batting has slowly been improving and last season (2013) I scored my first ever 50 (72no) in a league match then followed it up with another (68no) a few weeks later. Finished the season with about 350 runs on Saturdays and also got 52 not out in an evening 20/20 game.
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Topic: Nixon Pro Select (Read 5074 times)