And if I were you, I would avoid Kashmir Willow as I hear that it's not as easy to work with?
I would look at a couple of grade 3/2 and maybe one grade 1 better cleft, if you can get hold of them?
Shape and finish the lower grades first. and once you are getting better and more confident, do the grade 1 for your match bat!
The bat I made was not grade 1, but it still feels a great bat and there really should be very little (if any) performance difference - remember that just because a cleft is grade 1, it doesn't mean that it will perform any better than a grade 3!
For example, the Talisman bat I reviewed in my 'bat inventory' topic last night doesn't have the straightest grains, and is probably grade 2 willow, but it performs as well as just about cleft out there, and better than most!! So its not always about cosmetics!
Best of luck fella!