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[Tom]

We lost out to Gray Nicolls, so must try harder!

[Talisman]

But you beat Piri Piri.....

[Wills]

Mike, is that meant to be a compliment?

[Talisman]

I'm not sure, to be honest I was surprised that GN beat Mongoose so just trying to be positive in a tongue in cheek manner.

[smilingjeff]

I`ve tried various bats over the years and will be buying more this winter. Surely it`s about what suits your style of play and what you are comfortable with. At the risk of being heretical, is there really a great deal of difference between a group of batmakers, in terms of the quality of their products?

[ProWannabe88]

Jeff, you just threw this topic wide open 
Everyone on this forum will argue/agree that all batmakers are different. However I'd say theres no substitute for experience, rob pack blueroom/puma, julian millichamp screaming cat etc. whereas others may think the latest additions are better suited to providing the weapons for the modern game. Matt hell4leather is making some awesome blades by the looks of things. The truth is all manufacturers and companies are different and from personal experience I think the better bats I've had have all been from the 'smaller' sorry guys, pod shavers and brands with the exception of one (newbery) but that speaks for itself really. The less publicised brands build a positive reputation by letting there products do the talking, not a big named pro (who coincidentally probably had his bat made by the little guy before sending it to the shelf companies for stickering)  there's no better place than this forum for setting that example.

[lazza32]

well said prowannabe88. I just received my chase 175 and the craftsmanship is beyond brillant. It kills my GN, Impala and puma bats.

[roco]

Well I have had a scat pro really nice blade and pick up for the size just could not get on with the handle and currently got a keeley sachin and is a beaut

[tim2000s]

Having been on a bit of a bat buying spree over the last couple of months, the one's I've been most impressed with in terms of craftmanship (prior to getting them in the nets) are a H4L Excel, a M&H S6 and a Lekka (English-made). When I get them in the nets I'll have a better idea of what I have though.

Having said that, my GN Xiphos PP still goes like a train, even though it's starting to show it's age.

the latest additions are better suited to providing the weapons for the modern game

That may be true, but how many of us really play a "modern game"? I for one still play the way I always did, which is generally trying hard not to get out early on so that I can smack the ball about a bit later!

[ProWannabe88]

what i meant by modern game was the scoring is quicker across every format and bats seem to be getting bigger and bigger with the less 'traditional' profiles. i've just bought a uk Lekka cannot wait for nets to start so i test it.

[tim2000s]

what i meant by modern game was the scoring is quicker across every format and bats seem to be getting bigger and bigger with the less 'traditional' profiles. i've just bought a uk Lekka cannot wait for nets to start so i test it.

Yes, the profiles have definitely changed. I'm not sure that the bats are getting bigger though. I suspect they are just changing shape as the average bat generally is less than 3lb, even for the pros, whereas going back 100 years, the bats definitely weighed more (4lbs!!!). There may also be a difference in pressing compared with years back, and I reckon that the other big change is marketing and freebies. How many of the cricketers in the early 1900s got free bats and how many bought their own? HOw does that change through the 20th Century? Is there a pattern to the development of the cricket bat that links to this?

[Buzz]

Yes, the profiles have definitely changed. I'm not sure that the bats are getting bigger though. I suspect they are just changing shape as the average bat generally is less than 3lb, even for the pros, whereas going back 100 years, the bats definitely weighed more (4lbs!!!).

not really - in the 1920-60's batsmen used bats around 2lbs 1 or 2 only. Imagine tring to hit one out of the oval like Gibert Jessop did with a match stick...

[Ayrtek Cricket]

person i saw the other week said he used a 2lbs 4 and was amazed by the size of a bat with 30mm edges that i showed him....also his bats he got from GN cost 7 shillings or something lol

[steelcouch]

Never heard of anyone using a 4 on bat
especially not that long ago
probably heaviest in the eighties with the west Indians and also botham et al

undoubtably lighter bats encourage comtilled stroke play and adjusting to unpredictable bounce etc
does annoy me this search for huge heavy bats when nippers should really be concerned with perfecting their craft rather than launching it into row z

onviously it feels great to smash cricket balls and equally great to watch them being smashed
pros tend to use 2 10 max and LIGHTER

[roco]

Depends on the player as gayle uses 3lb and sachin 2lb12 but most use lighter to help with bat speed plus played against a guy other year who had a 4lb or late 3lb cji fatso plus irani used a near 4lb in t20 didn't he