Broken Britain it might be, but regardless of the sport, most people have the available cash to spend 100-150 on equipment, especially if it's accumulated over 5-6 years.
I grew up playing in what is likely one of the lower income areas in the Uk, and none of the league sides I played forever had any sort of club kit. There may have been the odd occasion someone struggled to pay fees or buy their own gear, but in those cases, someone on the board would have a quiet word and sort out a solution that suited all and in the case of gear something would always be found.
I struggle to believe that even in the poorest areas of the Uk there still exist league sides that rely predominantly on a club kit.
oh, well, there are, plenty of them, and not in the poorest areas, either. I live in one of the richer areas of the UK, and every club turns up with a big kit bag. Maybe ~50% of players bring their own kit for a midweek game. Most come straight from work. Very few teenagers own their own kit unless they're the over-privileged private school types.
I bought a new bat this year, but before that the last time I owned a bat was 2015. In the mean time, I scored over 1000 runs with a variety of cheap club bats. This is by no means unusual. My first 50 this year was with a club bat as I didn't want to put my bat into the hold in case it got damaged.