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[uknsaunders]

Cynical hat on here, is Pickup being used to sell heavier clefts? More and more I'm seeing the line being trotted out, "it's all about pickup, don't look at the weight". Is it though? No matter how well a bat picks up, it still weighs what it weighs. If you can't hit a 100 balls with it properly then no matter how it picks up, it's too heavy. Pickup can to some extent hide the true weight but only by the odd oz.

I think the forum follows fashions, we all get a light bat, then get a heavy one, get a low middle and then a high middle. However, are we currently buying into pickup a bit more than we should in search of bigger bats?

[smilley792]

Pick up over dead weight works in a shop swinging it about for 30secinds.


What happens 30 overs in when your arms are dead from the extra 2 oz your not used to?

[Kulli]

I do think there are plenty of lines trotted out just to sell bats, the same goes for fad's that get pushed out way, but if weight is nearer the pivot then their less force required to lift it so it's not all BS.

[Alvaro]

I'd make a selection of bats, within my deadweight range - about 2.9-2.10 and a bit. Then I'd pick the one with best pickup. Downside is that I never plan to buy blind again. And it can take a while - ask @Uzi Sports ...

[Seniorplayer]

Know your bat wieght get the middle high equals a nice light pickup and feel

[uknsaunders]

Pick up over dead weight works in a shop swinging it about for 30secinds.


What happens 30 overs in when your arms are dead from the extra 2 oz your not used to?

Totally agree. An extreme example but went from 2'12 to a 3'4 bat that picked up well. Scored runs with it and woke up the following morning with my arm in agony.

[uknsaunders]

Know your bat wieght get the middle high equals a nice light pickup and feel

Agree, know your limits and caveat the upper limit with a high middle/good pickup bat.

[Buzz]

I think it is important to have a rough idea of what the bat weighs. Have a range you like - for me it is 2lbs9 to 11 - then it is about the middle position and performance
get those right and then chose the one with a pick up that makes me feel like I am goign to score runs with the bat (always in gloves)

The idea that you can have a 2lbs 13+ bat which "feels" 2lbs 9 - which you can actually use is unrealistic. But then I get tennis elbow if the bat is too heavy...

You do get heavy bats which pick up amazingly well - but they are still unusable if you are used to lighter bats.

[tushar sehgal]

Cynical hat on here, is Pickup being used to sell heavier clefts? More and more I'm seeing the line being trotted out, "it's all about pickup, don't look at the weight". Is it though? No matter how well a bat picks up, it still weighs what it weighs. If you can't hit a 100 balls with it properly then no matter how it picks up, it's too heavy. Pickup can to some extent hide the true weight but only by the odd oz.

I think the forum follows fashions, we all get a light bat, then get a heavy one, get a low middle and then a high middle. However, are we currently buying into pickup a bit more than we should in search of bigger bats?

I am with you @uknsaunders I don't care about what people say how well a bat picks up if it is not in my weight range. Only time pick-up is important to me is if the bat falls in the weight I use/like. Then it comes down to what I want to use the bat for.

[edge]

I think you'd have to go really quite substantially heavier to have a big effect on fatigue, personally the concern is more how it will affect your swing and timing. I've got bats from 2lb8 to 2lb13 with all variety of middle positions that feel roughly the same in the stance, but you don't actually do a lot of batting in that position!

Also, I can't be the only person that thinks 'picks up well' and 'picks up light' are different things?

[FattusCattus]

Thank God Nick! I thought this was a thread about your dating history!

[Vitas Cricket]

The idea that you can have a 2lbs 13+ bat which "feels" 2lbs 9 - which you can actually use is unrealistic.

This.

[uknsaunders]

Thank God Nick! I thought this was a thread about your dating history!

That's the only reason you viewed this thread 

[uknsaunders]

I think you'd have to go really quite substantially heavier to have a big effect on fatigue, personally the concern is more how it will affect your swing and timing. I've got bats from 2lb8 to 2lb13 with all variety of middle positions that feel roughly the same in the stance, but you don't actually do a lot of batting in that position!

Also, I can't be the only person that thinks 'picks up well' and 'picks up light' are different things?

Not sure you have to go that much heavier to see fatigue, but your swing and timing would be the first things to be impacted. I had one bat that felt fine but after a while my backlift got lower and I was literally picking it off the floor towards the end of a long knock. It was only a 2-3oz difference but it crept up on you in the middle.

How would you define pick up well and pick up light?

[edge]

Not sure you have to go that much heavier to see fatigue, but your swing and timing would be the first things to be impacted. I had one bat that felt fine but after a while my backlift got lower and I was literally picking it off the floor towards the end of a long knock. It was only a 2-3oz difference but it crept up on you in the middle.

How would you define pick up well and pick up light?

Will vary a lot person to person of course, but I've switched back to an old bat that was 3oz heavier than my usual for a few innings or net sessions and had no problems with fatigue.

Picks up light is self-explanatory, picks up well is more of a personal thing. For me it's about the balance, it can't feel either too light or too heavy - a bat should feel its' weight.
It's an instrument for hitting things after all, in theory you want a concentrated mass as far away from your hands as possible to get the weight behind the ball and max leverage (basically like a big hammer), but to make it usable for the variety of shots and long period of time necessary in cricket you need to find your compromise between that and the extreme of the mass being as close to your hands as possible to make it easier to swing. That compromise is of course at very different points for different people.