Hi, I'm a newbie here, so I thought I'd open my account with a quick review of my Laver and Wood Carbo Churchill.
This bat is a short handle with a one inch longer blade in order to accommodate my height (I am 6'5"). It weighs in at 2lb 11oz, has a single rubber on the handle and an oval handle. The bat's pick up is nice for it's weight. I think it picks up lighter than 2lb 11oz. Being the Churchill, it is a Grade 3 Willow, although you can't really tell this from the look of the wood, and has 11 grains. I've had the bat for around six months, so I've had opportunity to use it in the nets and on the field. The pictures are below.
As can be seen from the images, the bat has a mid-height middle, and boy does it go off this. For a grade 3 bat the ping is probably the best I've had. But what's it like to play with?
NetsIn the nets, off a hard strip, the middle is perfectly positioned to batter most bowlers of most lengths. Whether getting forward and driving or going on to the back foot and playing cross bat, I found that I was battering most balls, and mis-shaping a few when I really threw the bat at them. On this hard surface, it was incredible. Ok, the toe isn't fantastic, but then, you don't play most shots with the toe, and as I like to come down the wicket on the front foot, I found I was turning prods into much bigger shots.
Match UseOn a grass pitch, the ball still flies off the middle, indeed, only the second time I used it in a match, I hit a pretty big six straight back over the bowlers head. I was incredibly pleased to see just how easy it was to turn flicks and prods into boundaries, and during an 8-a-side tournament I was fetching balls from wide of the off stump and paddling them down through backward square leg for four with little effort.
ConclusionFor all its ping and big middle, I had a few issues with using the bat out on grass. I am naturally a front foot defensive player, so look to get forward and play from there. The position of the middle doesn't really do me any favours in this respect as it's too high to hit regularly when on the front foot. Where I found it worked really well was on artificial pitches, where there is that little bit of extra bounce, and the ball came plumb into the middle. Having reviewed the bats that I have previously owned and used to great effect (most recently a Hunts County Insignia), I'd have to suggest that the profile I chose (the Special) probably didn't really suit my game and I should have gone for a Classic profile which has a much lower middle.
None of this is the fault of the bat, of course. In itself, the bat is fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to buy Laver and Wood again. What I'd certainly do is pay more attention to the shape and weight distribution, and look for a lower middle.
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Topic: Laver and Wood Carbo Churchill - Review (Read 7130 times)