I used the downtime since the official season end to indulge my batlust and acquired me a few more new sticks. I'm up to 7 now with a T20 model being made by Red Ink Cricket. Circumstances have forced me to stop at 9 for now with the acquisition of a Hulk profile Blank Bats whenever one becomes available.
PHANTOM CRICKET - ILLUSIONModel - Phantom Illusion in the LE full/convex shape
Grade - Grade 3 Willow or what Phantom terms Performance grade
Weight - 2lb 10.8oz (without anti-scuff sheet and
Handle Length - Short Handle
Blade Length - Standard
Handle Shape - Oval bottom hand
Profile - SUPER (light concave)
Sweet Spot - Low/mid Sweet spot
I acquired this via It's Just Cricket. It's very clean for a Grade 3 but has only 6 grains. A very big profile for its weight and picks up lighter than its weight. Taps up very nicely and has been knocked in by IJC who have added an anti-scuff sheet and edge tape (IJC used this bat as a prop in a recent video on how to apply an anti-scuff sheet). I will pick up this bat from IJC tomorrow and hopefully have a net with it Saturday morning ahead of Saturday's game.
XX CRICKET - KUMBAModel - KUMBA
Grade - Grade 2 Willow or what XX terms COUNTY grade
Weight - 2lb 10oz fully dressed with anti-scuff sheet
Handle Length - Short Handle
Blade Length - 0.5 inch shorter blade
Handle Shape - Thin Oval which I surprisingly liked a lot, very manoeuvrable in my shadow practice
Profile - full profile with very minimal concaving
Sweet Spot - Low/mid Sweet spot
Other specs - 38mm edge, 62mm spine, 22mm toe and 14mm shoulder, rounded toe that is angled to sit nicely in the stance stop feathering
Nice touch - My initials engraved on the shoulder and free bat cover.
I had seen a few reviews of the XX bats on IJC's youtube channel. By chance, when I was browsing XX's twitter page, I found that they had a sale on the KUMBA gear including the bats. So I called David of XX cricket and worked out some specs and ordered a bat.
I must commend David for his exceptional customer service. The first bat was made and shipped to me within 3 days of making payment, David offered me a selection of clefts and kept me appraised throughout the process. It turned out that David had accidentally made me a full length bat instead of the 0.5 inch shorter blade I asked for. We had a chat and he immediately offered to make me another bat.
The second time, it took slightly longer as he got quite busy with the Lord's trade show, etc. but again, he kept me appraised of the progress and was always courteous when I enquired about anything or repeated my specs. Another selection of clefts was offered (and thanks to you guys, I selected one with heartwood). I got the finished product today after asking David to delay dispatch to a day when I would be at home and could arrange to send the original bat back with the courier.
The bat is an absolute belter. It picks up nice, has a very nice oval thin handle which I'm hoping will allow for some deft and manoeuverable batting. I had a few taps on the mallet and it feels very good all along the blade. It was made to within 0.5oz of the desired weight. Some others here have raved about the performance of David's bats and I'm hoping mine isn't an exception to this norm. Taking it in tomorrow to IJC for knocking in.
If you want a fantastic and personal customer service, I cannot recommend David and XX Cricket highly enough.
JEDI CRICKET - CUSTOM SHAPEModel - Custom, I requested a full profile of a Viking Bat that James Dollive makes for Viking Cricket but with a gradual duck bill toe.
Grade - Lowest Grade 1 Willow in their range or what JEDI terms ULTIMATE grade
Weight - 2lb 10.4oz (without anti-scuff sheet)
Handle Length - Short Handle
Blade Length - Standard
Handle Shape - Can't say if it's round or semi-oval, may have it altered to a more oval shape sometime later.
Profile - full/convex
Sweet Spot - Low/mid Sweet spot
Nice touch - Free bat cover.
I ordered this from JEDI via The Cricket Boutique. Since I asked for a custom shape, I had to go for their Grade 1 but at a very reasonable price, much lower than my other bat purchases. I requested a good performing cleft and selected one of two offered. I can confirm that JEDI make all their bats from scratch as I was offered unhandled clefts for selection. So for those looking for a genuine UK brand to support, here's one of them. I choose the cleft with the 7 dead straight grains in the playing area with a touch of heartwood (and some blemishes) in the right hander's inside edge.
The bat was shipped within 5 days though the time frame I was given was 2 weeks. I picked up the bat and it felt really light - my two other bats that I use in matches is a BB which weights 2lb 10.1oz and a Hunts which weighs 2lb 10.7oz and this definitely felt lighter. However, I was slightly disappointed in the handle not being more oval. It feels round though James says it's semi-round.
Then I weighted the bat and I was very surprised when my scale said 2lb 10.4oz, which again was a bit of a downer because it was 1oz higher than I had asked for. Then, out of curiousity, I smacked the bat with the mallet and the mallet nearly hit me in the face on the rebound. And the bat responded all the way to the stickers. Easily, admittedly in my inexperienced view, the most responsive of the bats I've got so far. So I decided to keep the bat and resolved to modify the handle later. This bat is also on the way to IJC for knocking in tomorrow.
James Dollive does make a good bat, the pick up and the mallet response are exceptional and can therefore overlook the other small stuff. It's no wonder that Viking and IJC use him to make their bats and perhaps other brands that I don't know of as well.
Can't wait to get my Red Ink T20 which should arrive next week (shorter blade, heavier bat at 2lb 12oz). I'm being coached over the winter to overcome some problems and limitations I have with my batting and I hope to put my new purchases to good use and establish a pecking order of sorts to use next season in games.
Unhandled JEDI cleft
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Topic: Some new sticks - from XX Cricket, JEDI and Phantom Cricket (Read 6844 times)