So I had an extended nets session with the Hunts on Sunday and the Blank Bats today, both sessions were with bowling machines. Speed used was 50-55 mph. Previously, the bats were knocked in with a mallet and played in gently with a cricket ball hitting catches.
The ping on the Hunts bat was pretty good when driving. I found hitting the ball on either side of the bowler effortless with a high left elbow (too bad this happens only rarely in a game). Speed was 50 mph and outswing half-volleys. The bat starts pinging about 2 inches from the toe. I haven't tested the higher part of the blade yet with backfoot defenses, cuts and pulls.
The ping on the Blank Bats bat is unreal in the centre. I had five sets on the machine. The bowling machine was set to short of length for the first set (55 mph) and I was paying back foot drives (and a few pulls) and it sounded absolutely sweet. One set was enough to convince me that the middle was good. However, when driving full length balls on the next 4 sets, the response was mixed. A little higher up, say 2.5 inches to 3 inches from the bottom, the ball shoots off from the bat. But below that, I found the bottom of the bat a bit unresponsive and jarred in my hands. One ball moved the toe guard a bit but there have been no dents made on the bat. I put some edge tape on the bottom for extra protection and had another go with a mallet on the toe end and will have another nets session tomorrow ahead of Saturday's game. I'm not expecting to hit scorching boundaries off the bottom of the bat but i still expect to be able to guide the ball into gaps, particularly swinging good/full length deliveries for singles and twos. Fingers crossed for tomorrow's nets that the bottom responds a bit better.
I expect to use the Blank Bats for Saturday's game. Bat is the lightest one in my kit and the pickup is light and as long as i'm hitting the ball high up on the blade, the ping is really good.
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Topic: Hunts Custom Caerulex and Blank Bats B1 - first nets review (Read 9159 times)