After about 5 years off the scene I decided to rejoin club cricket, and what better way to mark the occasion than buying a brand new bat and showing you lovely people some pics of it
This bat is an Australian Gray Nics Atomic 700. This bat is sold here as an entry level grade 3 bat, with RRP of $250 (140 pounds), but I got it for 200 (around 110) because it was last years stock. It's also supposedly very rare to find lower grade bats made in Australia, but there was the "A" stamped on the back which leads me to believe it was made here.
All in all, for the price I paid I could not be happier. My budget was low because I was actually looking for a net bat since I still had a Kookaburra I used as a match bat lying around, but this one looks so good I might use this and relegate the other to the nets. The bat looks really nice for a grade 3, with a clean face with 9-10 grains. Only really 1 noticeable blemish mark on the right side of the bat, and a couple of other really small ones that require close analysis to spot. The specs are really good too. 40mm edges, 61mm spine (very rough measurements with a ruler) and 2.8 weight (from the manufacturer) with really nice pick up. The shape is fantastic with slight concaving, if any with a flat face and a duckbill toe. The middle I would say is mid, but I've seen it described mid to low as well. This bat is a pretty big departure from what I used to use back in the day. I was firmly a Kooka Kahuna guy when I played, which definitely suited the pitches I played in Australia with it's mid-high middle and my backfoot centric play, but I feel like the sweet spot of this bat is so long I should enjoy using this one too. Now it's time to oil it and knock this bad boy in