Thanks to
@KW9221 , I managed to get a personal introduction to Surinder from Robinson Sports this past Monday. And the bat is ready today. It's being oiled and I've arranged for it to be picked up from the factory in Jalandhar next Monday. All in a week's work. Amazingly quick.
First up, the customer service from Surinder is outstanding, especially if you have a personal introduction. I got one from
@KW9221 , so thanks a lot mate. I got an intro Monday morning. We sorted the profile and specs on Monday. I wanted a light but meaty low middle bat for the low bounce, wet, slow, early season Thames Valley wickets as I didn't have one of those, Surinder suggested the Sachin Tendulkar profile bat.
Bat Size: Short Handle
Blade Length: 1 inch shorter blade - 21 inch blade
Profile: Full, convex profile - Sachin Tendulkar
Toe shape: Rounded toe
Weight: 2lb 9oz, 1160 gm - 1170gm, fully dressed with toe guard, stickers and grip
Stickers: Blue stickers if available
Stickers: Only one sticker on front and one on back covering splice, please send the rest separately, I will apply after oiling and knocking in
Edge Width: As big as possible, at least 38mm
Spine Height: As big as possible, at least 65mm
Handle Shape: Oval handle
Cleft selection was done on Thursday. I wanted a butterfly but Surinder suggested a Grade 2 as denser butterfly clefts may not have been able to get the weight correct. So we choose a grade 2 which was only £30 higher.
I was given a choice of 4 and he recommended one of those. I short-listed 2 but went with his recommendation - what do I know about willow, so took his recommendation. The choice was between 1 and 2. I liked 2 because of straight, evenly spaced grains and a touch of heartwood on the inside edge. Surinder suggested 1 because it was the lighter cleft and would produce the bigger bat for weight and the ping was nice, so went with 1.
Once the cleft was selected, Surinder had a brief call with me to finalise every spec and clarify anything that was ambiguous. He then set his craftsman to work and by this evening, the bat was ready.
Handled and pressed cleft - left out to dry
Bat being shaped
Bat post shaping
Handle bound
Weight
Add 15 gm for stickers and it is bang on 2lb 9oz.
Final specs of this beast:
Blade Length: 21 inch
Weight: 2lb 9oz
Edge: 38mm
Spine 65mm
Toe: 28mm
Shoulder: 16mm
He hit every spec dead on - except maybe for my request for a blue aqua grip - but hey, nobody is perfect. He even offered to oil the bat for me
but said he wouldn't recommend his knocking in service as the guys don't do a thorough job. There's a free padded bat cover included. The best thing about Surinder is he keeps expectations realistic and doesn't promise the moon to win your business.
Now the biggest challenge is waiting until 28th October for my sister-in-law to bring the bat back from Jalandhar. Can't wait to get this weapon knocked in and test the ping myself. Fortunately, I'm netting twice a week until Christmas.
For those who aren't sticklers for a UK-only made bat, I'd recommend Robinson Sports. And if the bat arrives as promised and pings like I was told, I will double down on the recommendation.
Edit: Surinder didn't recommend knocking in the bat by his company because his regular guys are away on holiday during the Dussehra holidays and the guys knocking in bats in their absence are not as good his regular guys.
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Topic: Custom Bat from Robinson Sports (Read 6382 times)