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[Aldred Cricket Bats]

A thing of beauty as always, Paul.
Will you be able to do this profile in long blade?

Yes of course we can make it in a long blade. Obviously the bulk is spread slightly differently depending on how long you want the blade.
 Yes quite a few people like the stickers and I still love the old stickers as its where I started from and every aspect of that was done by myself. But I realise you can't stand still and I have poured this investment in over the last two years to get them looking really professional for the majority whilst trying to maintain that class quality look and feel of them. It's a tough one really but that's will be it I reckon for stickers for a while they cost too much to do for small numbers like we are dealing with they become cheaper if your having them done by the thousands but it's expensive for say 100 so you have to try and design something that will last the test of time. Still have some of the old stickers and still use the supreme ones at the moment

[Bats_Entertainment]

I'm no shape fetishist. How does this shape differ from the Velocity?

I think it is important, for you as a brand, for your stickers to be recognizable. You should perhaps not change them too often?

[Aldred Cricket Bats]

That's it for stickers now really they are all now apart from the supreme variations of the same sticker,mother logo remains the same. The velocity has the shape more in the classic bat design with the spine running into the handle but with what many now days would consider to be a low middle because the highest part of the spine is lower down in the bat. As you've heard me say before that isn't so as the middles are in the same area on all good bats. It's where the weight is distributed to to get the balance and feel. Our sovereigns are similar in that the spine runs in to the handle but the high area of the spine is spread over a slightly different area. The supreme is possibly closest to the spectre as to where the bulk of the wood is placed but has a rounder curvier feature to it and is thinner up round the splice area. The spectre is purely focused on as much wood being in that hitting area as possible making the angles to the peak of the spine sharper followed by the edges following that contour but the way it is shaped allows for a rediculously good pick up. The area along the spine to the handle is flattened out slightly but not too much to damage the integrity of the willow but giving it good strength and power up the top of the blade for those big strikers of the ball. The belly round the peak of the spine is virtually un- scooped to get the power in that area whilst maintaining roughly 1 1/2" edges with 65-70mm spine height so as I said earlier all its timber is behind the ball in that hitting zone.

[Aldred Cricket Bats]

Spectre video

http://youtu.be/1mSyOe9421c

[Boondougal]

  super looking stick that one! I can see why you added it too your range for sure. The stickers are a bit of class as well, it pretty much sums up your brand for me. Classic, refined and quality.

Video seems to be set to private?

[Aldred Cricket Bats]

Bugger twice I've done that now. Try that. Me and computers don't mix I tell you

[No.4]

Great video. This is going straight to the top of my wish list for my next bat!

[surreyfan]

Wow, what a bat!!!

I think you will be a busy man Paul.

[Northern monkey]

Like the old stickers
But the new ones are very nice also
Suit the bat perfectly
Top stuff as always Paul

[tushar sehgal]

Paul if the spine was running all the way to the bottom on the 2'9 spectre bat what would the estimated finished weight be? Stickers are nice but the shape is what I like...I have noticed a lot of your shapes don't have the spine running all the way to the bottom, I know it helps with the pick-up and leaves more wood in the playing area but are there any other benefits/reasons? you now have 2 of my most liked shapes, velocity and spectre...

[Aldred Cricket Bats]

It's doable tushar but for every action there is a consequence just as in life  You would have to remove wood from elsewhere in the bat to put it into a spine down to the toe or scoop more out for purely cosmetic reasons. The bats I create are all formed from years of playing but also my experiences of making bats from basically stuffing them up when I first started because that's how you learn, by your mistakes right up to now and ongoing. I never say nothing will work but in my experience now I tend to wain towards what has proved to work over the space of a century or so and combining that with the modern desire of players. It's all about the fitting zone of the bat in any shape so the feel and balance all have an input to that to combine to give great performing and feeling bats.
 Does that make sense?

[Ams4287]

Great video Paul and really impressive stuff, the 2.9 is big for the weight. I'm hoping one of my club mates who I pointed in your direction (lad who dropped you a message outside of the forum last night) goes for the spectre so I can have a go in the nets 

The stickers do suit and are as good as anything on the market following your classic style

[Gurujames]

Quality stuff, why do people buy a mass market bat when British artisans produce such quality products at such a reasonable price? My only criticism is the SA rugby shirt.
Hoping to get a few quid for Christmas and I will order a bat.
What is the lightest bat you do? I'm a bit of an old duffer now and find it difficult to play a pull unless I have something around 2.7 (or lighter).

[Aldred Cricket Bats]

That's why it's my work shirt, we do do stuff around 2-7 need to look through our clefts to find the right weight to keep the bulk but not a problem if we have the right clefts

[tushar sehgal]

It's doable tushar but for every action there is a consequence just as in life  You would have to remove wood from elsewhere in the bat to put it into a spine down to the toe or scoop more out for purely cosmetic reasons. The bats I create are all formed from years of playing but also my experiences of making bats from basically stuffing them up when I first started because that's how you learn, by your mistakes right up to now and ongoing. I never say nothing will work but in my experience now I tend to wain towards what has proved to work over the space of a century or so and combining that with the modern desire of players. It's all about the fitting zone of the bat in any shape so the feel and balance all have an input to that to combine to give great performing and feeling bats.
 Does that make sense?

Yes it does Paul, as for the 2'9 bat I was more wondering if you made the spine run all the way to the bottom and everything else remained the same, i.e. size/concaving etc would the bat then weigh 2'12-2'14? essentially could you estimate how much weight that would add to the bat?