Evening all, got my hands today on my new B3 crown, custom shape. I spoke to David (streaky) about 3 weeks ago having decided to join the B3 wagon. I played against one of there pro players towards the end of the season and his bat went so well I decided to try one out. Anyway my design was a hybrid of the DB1 and DB2 profiles as i wanted a light bat with a full profile and a very long middle but the confidence building large edges. This is what David designed for me
So we then got onto what grade etc. so we then looked into best clefts to make me ideal shape in the weight. David sent me some nice 2 stripes and this 366 density cleft in crown willow. I then asked which he recommended to get best from my design and David said he doesn't like recommending as it may seen the crown is picked due to its higher price but for this he recommended the crown and I was happy to go with the crown. Basic reason was it would produce a bigger bat and this cleft pinged very well.
So after agreeing on the cleft, I picked purple stickers as don't see many with these and a white grip with a slightly oval handle and waited 10 days.
The bat arrived today. First thing I noticed was that for a top end £400 bat the bat does not come with a padded bat cover and it was wrapped in a single sheet of cardboard around the bat. Just would have proffered to have it packaged better or best a bat cover included. Anyway the bat itself weighs 2.8 fully gripped, scuff etc with 32mm edges and a 62mm spine so for weight is a big bat. Picks up like a complete wand with its long profile. The purple stickers look amazing with the white grip and really like the choice of these. The finishing is pretty good just a little rough towards the toe but overall very good. So I went I to the workshop in the garden and grabbed an old ball and tapped it up, well it slammed into the roof and sounds superb really impressed with the performance. Grains wise its lovely, and run straight through the toe which is something I look for on all my bats as really believe this makes for a good strong bat, a couple of blemishes on the rear of the bat but nothing to worry about.
Finally I managed to pick up some softs off eBay for £40 for pads and gloves. The gloves are basically new and pads are in a good condition for a seasons use. Must say very impressed with the softs.
Here are some pics