After seeing many forum members spend there hard earned over the past couple of weeks on new bats i thought i better get in on the act! I was very close to ordering a H4L earlier this week but after much deliberation, i decided last night that i'd pop over to hunts to get a new custom made bat. What a great way to spend your day off!
I didnt make an appointment with Hunts or Tony so took a risk and tipped up with the missus this morning about 10:30. After a quick work with the guy manning the shop he invited me to go and see Tony. As i've been down many times i knew what to expect, we had a chat about what i was looking for and he gave me 7-8 massive clefts to choose from that he could get down to my desired weight, 2lb 11oz. Now i'd have to admit it that before using the forum i would have probably gone on cosmetics when choosing a bat, however i decided to not even consider this and simply chose the one that felt like it would perform the best. I narrowed it down to 2 and Tony suggested i go with the one that looked most likely to give me a big profile for the weight. Afterwards i told him the specs that i wanted (2.11 with stickers and grip, mid-middle, oval handle and decent size edges. I'm not fussy

) and he set to work. Whilst making the bat we had a long chat about all things cricket really! he showed lots of mongeese ready for next season all of which looked good, especially the Cor3. I also set my eyes on a set of 3 hunts bats lined up in the worshop, after a tap with the ball and a few air shots, Tony told me that they were Darren Maddy's back in for restickering! After completing my bat, he showed me the new hunts stickers, which are a massive improvement from last year, very shiny like the mongoose ones to be fair. I liked the yellow ones but decided on the traditional hunts colours of black and red. He finished the bat off with a white toe-guard, grip and anti-scuff and my new prized possesion was ready!
Here are the pics for you all to see, didnt have brilliant light but there the best i can do

the bat weighs in at 2.12 with 32mm edges at the largest point. As for looks its has 10 grains and some heartwood on the outside edge and i will be the first to admit its not the prettiest seen on this forum, but its the performance that counts!









I would reccomend going to hunts for a bat to any forum members. its a really great experience seeing your bat being made in front of you. Tony is a real gentleman and talked me through everything to check what it exactly was that i wanted

I cannot wait to use it!