2014 floods and willow quality
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Mattsky

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2014 floods and willow quality
« on: May 06, 2014, 06:23:43 PM »
I'm thinking of replacing my bat this season or next, and was wondering what effects the widespread flooding will have on English willow, if any. I know weeping willows actually prefer damp conditions, but is that true of the salix willow that produces cricket bats? What effect does prolonged submersion have on it? Does it stop growing? Does it weaken the timber? Basically, what effect could it have on a bat's performance? I guess it's minimal, because (hopefully) only one year's growth (or grain) will be affected, but I've no idea, really. Anyone have any idea?
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tushar sehgal

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2014, 06:38:03 PM »
Good question. Consider buying 2013 models for now ;)
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tim2000s

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2014, 08:04:08 PM »
You'd also need to look at where the willow is grown. A significant amount of it is Brown in east Anglia where there were no floods.

The legend of misplace is that they started to grow willow in fields that were flooded regularly.

On this basis, it's probably fine.

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

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iand123

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2014, 08:05:29 PM »
The high winds is likely to be more of an issue than the flooding I'd have thought
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Mattsky

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2014, 08:09:01 PM »
No flooding in East Anglia? How did they manage that? It's the flattest part of the country!
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The Doctor

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2014, 08:26:13 PM »
Willow grows best next to water (generally running water i.e. rivers) but also grows well next to ponds, as it needs a constant source of water all year round - wont bore you with the reason why....

So being submerged temporarily in water will have no effect what so ever, in fact probably happens quite frequently due to their preferred growing location.

The most common effect on the willow is water staining – this is a dark stain/shadow on the bat.

Iand123 is quite right the high winds will have a more significant effect on willow procurement for the foreseeable future as Wrights have had to scrap a load of trees due to the storms.

I hope this answers your question.
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Mattsky

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Re: 2014 floods and willow quality
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2014, 08:35:01 PM »
Ah, good stuff, Doc. Thanks for the expert opinion. Nothing more to see here, then, basically. Move along!
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