When I was a kid, nobody - nobody - talked about Storm Damage to bats. But ever since Michael Carberry's bat got broken in half in the 2014 Ashes series, I hear people talking about Storm Damage at all levels of the game, as if it's a real thing. Honestly, I think it's total BS, really just a convenient scapegoat that's used to head off discussion about the excessive drying processes to which modern clefts are subjected. One of the guys at my club broke his bat just like Carberry's, and inside it was pretty much like Balsa.
Anyway, rather than just talk, I figure I'll try to prove my point, or at least provoke a decent and interesting debate. See the imperfect photos below, my 2018 bat has at least 4 major areas of 'Storm Damage', right across the back of the bat and very obvious (helpfully marked with black dots). I'm going to use the bat through the season, in net sessions and in matches, my bet is that nothing negative will happen to it, mainly because the cleft was air dried in my garage, rather than being kiln dried to within an inch of its life. So far, it has successfully negotiated 2 x 20 minute net sessions, and 1 match inning - approx 10 overs against the new ball. I hope to give it another good go this Sunday, weather permitting.
I plan to post regular reports as I go along. If it gets cracked, damaged or broken in half, I promise I'll report that too and share the photos!
Author
Topic: The Storm Damage myth (Read 12943 times)