Eaowbear, Peplow and Canners,
Thanks for your responses; timely and helpful. Until today I hadn't considered SAF as I didn't even realise they existed within my budget! Turns out, they do!
Ayrtek,
Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep it in mind.
As an aside, I know that this is something to be discussed with the batmaker, but any help would be great. As I said before, I've missed many seasons through injury - the last bat I bought was when I was 16, and now I'm 24. No real cricket in 4 years (3-5 games total) so I'm lost as to what it is I want. Learned my cricket in Pakistan and consequently, became so wristy that I find it quite tricky playing here. Any idea what pitches are like in the general london/kent area with regards to middle position of bat etc?
Once again, thanks for all your help. It is very welcome.
L