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[vdlith]

Hi Guys (and girls, if any?),

I am new to the forum and as you can see from my flag I am proudly South African!

I have a son that is only 7 years old and have been selected to play for his school U/9A team, he also plays for his club U/9A team since last year, when he was only 6.

Reason I am posting is that I am looking for a custom bat for my son. He is using a size 1 bat that I have made from one of my older, bigger bats. I have shorten it and reshaped it to suit him. It is not 100% balanced, but it works.

I have searched far an wide and even looked at importing a bat from India or Pakistan, but I do not want to buy something from a guy that I do not know or has no referals. I saw that there is a lot of custom bat makers on this forum with really good credentials!

Here is the custom bat my son are looking to get:
Size 1 bat, can send the exact measurements if required.
Flat faced blade, like on the GM F2's
Convex back with big edges and flattish rear bottom
Mid to low sweetspot and light pickup.
Weight of the bat must be around 635g
Also he is looking for a bat with straight closely spaced grains!

He is fanatic over good quality bats that shows beautifull wood. He hates the Kookaburra's and Gray Nicholls bats that have an artificial grain cover or that has been painted at the back!

I am also prepared to buy pre-pressed clefts that have a handle and needs some work. Tools for bat making are very scarse in South Africa.

Any help would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks in advance

Gawie

[Vitas Cricket]

As you are in South Africa, why don't you do what i have wanted to do for a long time, and take him to the B&S factory? Or at least get in contact with them to arrange a bat to your needs

[GDP1964]

Well said Jake B&S will certainly be able to help contact Mel Hansel 0027422860925

[vdlith]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies!

I have had him at 2 different pro cricket shops in Pretoria and they measured him. According to the research I have done he is right in the middle of the size one cricket bat size range.

The problem is that in Pretoria there are not a lot of good cricket stores, I have a choice of two big chainstores that doesn't know jack, or a "pro" store that never has any stock?

The B&S bats that I have seen in the stores here in Pretoria are realy not nice looking bats, sorry. They are available through the chain stores and not looked after at all.

The problem is that I have not came across any cricket bat manufacturer that have really good quality size 1 cricket bats, that is why so many brands stick artificial grain tape on the front and paint the back and sides of the bats. I know that these small boys only plays with 113g ball and there's not really a big market for these bats.

I am very, very impressed with the custom bats on this forum, these bat makers are pasionate about their bats and show them with pride. Also the costomers rant and rave about how good their bats are. This is what I am also looking for. Please bear in mind the bats specs that I am after.

I will contact B&S in SA and see what they can offer me.

Thank you very much so far for the info, really appriciate it

Regards

[WillyorWonty]

I always see stunning kids bats from MSR on ebay here in the UK, some have 15+ ruler straight grains and are very cheap for what they are.

[FvanN]

Could also try D&P in SA.

[WillyorWonty]

At the price how can you beat this sort of thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPECIAL-SIZE-2-EXCEPTIONAL-GRAIN-ENGLISH-WILLOW-CRICKET-BAT-A116-/151347181575?pt=UK_SportingGoods_CricketBats_SM&hash=item233cfeb807

[vdlith]

I have contacted D&P and prices are the same as the MSR bats on fleabay. Although double the price from the local shops, it looks quite good and I know that the bat has been custom crafted to suit his style. Blackwidow is also an SA brand. Only problem is that all of the bat manufacturers in SA are down in Cape Town or eastern cape (B&S)

The season has not yet officially started, so I have some time.

I could get a nice looking custom made bat from India, grade 3 English willow, 15 straight grains exactly made to my specifications, for around US$25, excluding P&P. Do not know what the import duties would be though.

I have a couple of mates in the UK that regularly visit us, so it would be much easier to get one from the UK to SA.

[skip1973]

Good luck whoever takes this on.

[GDP1964]

Sorry to hear about the bats you have seen in store, B&S are trying to get retailers to take better care of stock, but it is hard to police.

If you contact Mel directly you will get a very nice bat indeed. Here is the sort of quality you can expect, this is a size 3 bat but otherwise you can expect similar.