Evening all. So after netting with my Gunn & Moore kit for the 1st half of our winter nets I have now turned my attention to my Gray Nicolls kit for the 2019 match kit decision.
So this is the 1st of my GN bats the 2019 powerspot and firstly it’s a thing of beauty being the 2019 rep bat and the one that was shown at the Lords trade event. 8 dead straight and even grains running dead straight through the back of the blade and the toe with 38mm edges and made in Robertsbridge and at 2.8 fully dressed. You may notice I have removed the bottom rear sticker as personally feel there is to much going on and also it gives the perception of a square toe and therefore to the eye makes the bat look bigger which gives me personally greater confidence hence why I prefer a square toe. Additional I prefer the feel when tapping at the crease
So like my GM bats this firstly had about 90mins of work just against bola balls at between 60mph-70mph and tonight had 40mins against old quality used league balls. It’s certainly softer pressed than my GM with a few seam indents towards the toe and our 3 quicks (70mph+ all of them) where not at nets this evening. This will mean a little mallet work which I’m not a fan of but for the sake of the bat will do.
Shape wise it’s vermy full basically convex so has a huge amount of power some of the half volleys I recieved from the spinners were really crunched and performance wise I can’t fault this at all. The same has to be said for the pick up and balance but it is a light bat with what i would describe as a mid/high middle given the shape although GN state mid placed profile.
So the couple of slight issues I guess are that this bat comes “natural” so no scuff sheet or toe guard. Personally I am a fan of toe guards especially the GM toe guard as they actually stay on the bats so I have fitted a scuff and I may get a toe guard or even a TSi fitted to this. The handle is not stick thin as is the case on a lot of GN bats but the handle is in no why as comfy as the GM Noir or any of my GM bats so I will have to play around with the shape and thickness to stay with my 1 grip preference.
This is the most o have spent on a bat in the last 3 years at £200 and so far I think it will be money well spent and it will be close between GN & GM come season opener in early april. Enjoy a few pics
P