BAT: Gray Nicolls Viper 1000 Junior Cricket Bat English Willow Harrow 2lbs
BUY: Bought my eldest son a GN Viper in 2007 from Greg Chappell Cricket Centre for around AUD$185 and it has been a fantastic bat. At the time I was cautious about spending almost AUD$200 on a bat which in hindsight was the best thing I could have done for my son's cricket (ie his batting).
PERFORMANCE: I've used the bat and I can say it has great pick up, balance and a great middle/sweet spot. The Viper Profile is attractive, in my opinion, and in English Willow highlights it's good quality from GN. My son has used it in club and school cricket and his batting has improved immensely over the last few seasons - a part of it has been because of the Viper and using a decent cricket bat rather than something less and inferior. Two of his mates also had Vipers and they were also very impressed with them.
FUTURE USE: My eldest son has outgrown the Viper, so I've sanded it back (it might be a little under 2lbs now), regripped it and put it in storage for the next few years so that the youngest son can use it in about 2013/14. My son has looked after the Viper and whilst it has had a lot of use it has no splitting/damage which sanding back hasn't now made it "as new".
RECOMMENDATION: The GN Viper 100 Junior Cricket Bat has a lot going for it if they are as good now as they were back in 2007, and I've no reason to think they aren't. If I was looking for a Junior Cricket Bat in English Willow for under AUD$200 then I'd start with the GN Viper 1000 and then compare others with it as the benchmark.
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Topic: Gray Nicolls Viper 1000 Junior Cricket Bat (Read 4036 times)