Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

breeno

Active Member
Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Thoughts people? What do you believe is the best value for money?
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

breeno;273183 said:
Thoughts people? What do you believe is the best value for money?

Pay a grand, go to India to the MRF factory and u can get a ripping brand newy right off the production line for around $200. Bargain!
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

The Bat Doctor Bats look good, but has anyone tried one, and are they good with a decent lifespan?
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

You can't go past a Fisher custom made for the price you have said.
2 year warranty on the blade and 1 year on the handle.
It's a no brainer.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

imported_Craig Hutchy;274728 said:
You can't go past a Fisher custom made for the price you have said.
2 year warranty on the blade and 1 year on the handle.
It's a no brainer.

Definitely the fisher custom for about $450. Best value cricket bat if you're not spending the really big bucks.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Hi Breeno - this is how we pick good oil bats, that tend to last seasons & seasons.

Drive to Adelaide or your local city one afternoon.

Go to one of the Cricketing Mega Warehouses located there. Ask to go through the bats out the back - they should be in racks labelled brands, styles and weights.

Work out if you want a heavy bat or a light weight - Light Weight = 2lb8 to 2lb10. Heavy Weight is 2lb 10 plus. Find a weight your happy with. Pick out a few different models of Gray Nic, Kooka model etc correspondent to the price tag you've mentioned. There will probable be 10 -35 bats in each rack of correspondent brand, styles & weights. Go through each bat and check the grain is straight down the blade and that the grain flows straight through the toe of the bat and not on an angle or crooked. Check that no knots are also in the blade and most believe 5 - 7 grains is perfect.

You have now probably eliminated all but maybe 10 in each rack which originally contained 35. You should now have 10 kook's, 11 gray nics & 9 GM's etc or 30ish bats total. Now stand in your batting stance and pick up each of these bats a couple of times as if the bowler is just about to deliver. You will know notice that though they weight the same - some have a better pick up that others ... ie they feel lighter. Unless you want a toe heavy bat disregard the half that pick up heavily. You now have only 15 bats to choose from.

Now get a ball knocker innerer on a handle and tap the blade of each bat until you find the 1 in the 15 that has the best pick up & very sweetest middle and blade -THAT IS THE BEST VALUE BAT FOR YOUR $300 - $450. :)
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Fishing Charter Operator;288608 said:
Hi Breeno - this is how we pick good oil bats, that tend to last seasons & seasons.

Drive to Adelaide or your local city one afternoon.

Go to one of the Cricketing Mega Warehouses located there. Ask to go through the bats out the back - they should be in racks labelled brands, styles and weights.

Work out if you want a heavy bat or a light weight - Light Weight = 2lb8 to 2lb10. Heavy Weight is 2lb 10 plus. Find a weight your happy with. Pick out a few different models of Gray Nic, Kooka model etc correspondent to the price tag you've mentioned. There will probable be 10 -35 bats in each rack of correspondent brand, styles & weights. Go through each bat and check the grain is straight down the blade and that the grain flows straight through the toe of the bat and not on an angle or crooked. Check that no knots are also in the blade and most believe 5 - 7 grains is perfect.

You have now probably eliminated all but maybe 10 in each rack which originally contained 35. You should now have 10 kook's, 11 gray nics & 9 GM's etc or 30ish bats total. Now stand in your batting stance and pick up each of these bats a couple of times as if the bowler is just about to deliver. You will know notice that though they weight the same - some have a better pick up that others ... ie they feel lighter. Unless you want a toe heavy bat disregard the half that pick up heavily. You now have only 15 bats to choose from.

Now get a ball knocker innerer on a handle and tap the blade of each bat until you find the 1 in the 15 that has the best pick up & very sweetest middle and blade -THAT IS THE BEST VALUE BAT FOR YOUR $300 - $450. :)

Thanks alot buddy, I really appreciate that, does anyone know where one of these stors would be in Melbourne? Would it be Greg Chappell Cricket Centre?
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Seriously. Don't waste time at Greg Chappell, go to Fisher.

You'll walk through exactly the same process that was noted above (i.e. picking up a whole lot of bats, working out which weighting, pick up, middle is perfect for you), and then you'll get a bat custom made for you.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need a 'brand' bat - if any of Fishers custom bats came with a Kookaburra or Grey Nich. sticker, they'd be retailing 550+.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

I Know that MV, but I dont wanna pay $480 for the custom, I was only really looking for between $390-$420 but that was too narrow a margin.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

I don't believe brand bats are the be all and end all. I however do prefer Gray Nics though as they have never let me down - that is ... except when flashing outside off stump to early in an innings and nicking one to first slip and really thats not the bats fault!

I don't no who 'Fisher' is - is that a local Melbourne Manufacturer?

If 'Fisher' has hundreds of blades to choose from there is no reason why 'Fisher' wouldn't supply the same quality blade as Gunn & Moore etc. In fact in SA there is a local producer called 'Fielke' that produces resonable blades.

I believe the process is most important in picking a bat and if you went through 70 - 120 bats and found THE ONE ... I wouldn't bother getting one hand made to match it. Why would you - there's no guarantee the duplicates pick up will be perfect for starters. With saying this I do no 1 or 2 district cricketers who get their bats hand made and good luck to them - they seem to be happy with them.

However, if the process is good enough for the majority of semi professional sportmen - you'll be happy with your selection Breeno ... but take your time and follow the steps whether shopping at The Mega Warehouse, Greg Chapell or Fisher etc. I personally don't mind wasting half a day to get a quality blade, in fact I enjoy it. :)

I'ld also try save that extra buck as well mate - Perhaps you can get away with what your using at the moment until your cash supplies are adequate. The second tier blades are around $450 - $500 and there are always exceptional ones mixed into every batch which could easily be graded into the pick of the crop and thus could be costing $650 plus.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Fishing Charter Man;289619 said:
I don't believe brand bats are the be all and end all. I however do prefer Gray Nics though as they have never let me down - that is ... except when flashing outside off stump to early in an innings and nicking one to first slip and really thats not the bats fault!

I don't no who 'Fisher' is - is that a local Melbourne Manufacturer?

If 'Fisher' has hundreds of blades to choose from there is no reason why 'Fisher' wouldn't supply the same quality blade as Gunn & Moore etc. In fact in SA there is a local producer called 'Fielke' that produces resonable blades.

I believe the process is most important in picking a bat and if you went through 70 - 120 bats and found THE ONE ... I wouldn't bother getting one hand made to match it. Why would you - there's no guarantee the duplicates pick up will be perfect for starters. With saying this I do no 1 or 2 district cricketers who get their bats hand made and good luck to them - they seem to be happy with them.

However, if the process is good enough for the majority of semi professional sportmen - you'll be happy with your selection Breeno ... but take your time and follow the steps whether shopping at The Mega Warehouse, Greg Chapell or Fisher etc. I personally don't mind wasting half a day to get a quality blade, in fact I enjoy it. :)

I'ld also try save that extra buck as well mate - Perhaps you can get away with what your using at the moment until your cash supplies are adequate. The second tier blades are around $450 - $500 and there are always exceptional ones mixed into every batch which could easily be graded into the pick of the crop and thus could be costing $650 plus.

Fisher is a local (western suburbs) bat producer. It's one guy, who makes, I believe, every bat that has a Fisher sticker on it, and he's been doing it for a long time now. Also makes Hog Ozblades, and people generally swear by him once they've got a Fisher.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Fishing Charter Man;289619 said:
If 'Fisher' has hundreds of blades to choose from there is no reason why 'Fisher' wouldn't supply the same quality blade as Gunn & Moore etc. In fact in SA there is a local producer called 'Fielke' that produces resonable blades.
The quality is usually consistently good from manufacturers like Screaming Cat and Fisher, there's a few reasons behind it. One is all manufacturer is carried out in house. If he makes a poor bat his reputation is damaged, if the company making the Kookaburra bat out in India makes a poor bat then no-one will ever know it was them. For the smaller guys reputation and word of mouth is everything.

Bear in mind also with GM, their bats are made by machine now. Now how does a machine spot a butterfly stain, storm damage or anything else which needs special attention either with pressing or removal of it. Willow is a natural product, therefore clefts are never the same. They need individual pressing and detail to get the best out of them, Fisher and other guys who make 1000 odd bats a year have enough time to give you and the bat the attention needed.

Don't get me wrong, GM and Kook will make some very good bats. But there could also be quite a lot of crap mixed in with it. If you do use the method of testing each bat and knocking with a mallet obviously most of the danger of getting a dodgy bat is removed.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Have any of you looked at this before?

Worlds Largest English Cricket Bat Willow Supplier

No matter who shapes your bat, cuts it and puts whatever Mickey Mouse badges on it, the most important thing is the wood has got come from here (Essex in the UK). It's like surfboards, never in a million years would I buy a UK surfboard all the time I could get one that was made in OZ. I still ride the same old 5'10" thruster fish that was made in 1986 in Forster NSW and I've been told it's to do with the climate and the humidity levels when Aussie boards are made - it's different to the conditions here in the UK and as a result our fibre glass is crap! You lot make surfboards (Fibre glass) we grow Willow.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

There's 3 major English willow suppliers, Green's, J.S Wrights and Anglian. Some like GN and Kippax grow some of their own willow. It's pretty much unanimous between batmakers that EW is the stuff to have and use.

There can be changes made to willow though in terms of moisture levels, these bigger bats you're seeing coming in from Asia (particularlly Pakistan) are kiln dried. Ideally you want around 13% moisture content to get best performance and durability. These bats coming in from Pakistan are dried to a lower percentage of moisture meaning good performance and cosmetics but they really won't last very long. Try to look for bats made from air dried willow.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

I bought a bat from a dude at our club who has made his own brand and it humms

beautiful weight, pick up nice shape and middle

awesome blade

their 2.7 one is $280 and their 2.9-2.10 blade is $320

Lawrence and Hendricks get on them
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

Stock6363;290940 said:
I bought a bat from a dude at our club who has made his own brand and it humms

beautiful weight, pick up nice shape and middle

awesome blade

their 2.7 one is $280 and their 2.9-2.10 blade is $320

Lawrence and Hendricks get on them
Is it <<< AS SPORTS >>> who do his bats? Looked at some pics of the L&H bats and look very much like the ones AS do. Same shape, grips and grip tape.
 
Re: Best value for money bat, between $300-$450 AUD

What about Hunts the type is the Glory, what are your thoughts ????
Looking at getting one worth 450, discounted down to 250.
Is this a good brand to be buying ????
 
In this era whats the best value for money in this price range? Gunn and Moore, Gray Nicholls, Kookaburra etc. The budget priced GM's look pretty good.
 
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