Buying a new cricket bat

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Jelly Beanz

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Buying a new cricket bat

I've got a Puma X-bow 4000 which I bought off a schoolmate at the moment, but it's only harrow and it's got quite a bit of wear and tear. I've outgrown it really, but it should do for a coupla months while I find a new one and prepare it. Today, I went down to the nearest good cricket shop and looked at a few they had. Two things occured to me, firstly that none of them less than £150 had many grains (usually 5) and secondly, that there wasn't a whole lot of difference between them, as far as I could tell. Some were obviously heavier when you picked them up, and some (like the Gray Nicolls Fusion) had a light pick up and felt heavier when you played the shot downwards.

The main thing that struck me though, was that I really didn't know what made a good bat, apart from the grains thing. They didn't have any balls to bounce off the blades (I'll ask the other assistant next time :p) and the weights weren't marked on either. My main question here is, what should I look for??

Secondly though, I thought a Kookaburra Angry Beast felt good in the hands and the Gray Nicolls Fusion had a really good pickup. The Puma Stealth wasn't too bad either. Does anyone have experience with these bats or any opinions about how good they are??
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

You can do much worse than one of this - Fusion.

If you could stretch to the Fusion Sports "Grade 1" then I really recommend it, if not the Fusion Sports "G3/4" bat is a super bat and you still get to have a say in how its made.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

I quite like those as well but I've never seen one in the flesh so can't really comment but the reviews are generally more positive than negative.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

I've had a look at those two sites and they look great if you know about bats, but I don't feel that I know enough about what I want in a bat to be able to specify it. Plus, I'm not exactly God's gift to batting!! I'm not bad, but I'm nothing special.

When I said £110-140, £140 is probably as high as I could go, except in exeptional circumstances.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

In that case then you want to look for something a bit more durable.

For your needs something with 5 - 8 grains would be suitable, just look fro something which is fairly clean - a few blemishes on the face would be fine.

http://www.martinberrillsports.com/insignia3crowncricketbat-p-773.html
http://www.martinberrillsports.com/reflex3crowncricketbat-p-777.html

The above are both nice bats, good for the average batsman with decent pick ups (I can also recommend the company to buy from). They will fit the needs of someone like yourself without blowing the budget.

Are there any companies in particular that you like?
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

http://www.cricketsupplies.com/detail.asp?productid=19064

Grade 1 English Willow, Ballistics have great pick-up, generally feel quite light from what i've seen and played with, and a very good price. They also look stunning, which can be seen as a positive for some people :p

http://www.cricketsupplies.com/detail.asp?productid=2751

This is the same price, and there aren't many better mainstream bat makers than GN. Grade 1 English willow. A friend of mine from my club has one of these and they're lovely things, shaped beautifully, and pick-up and play very very well.

http://www.cricketsupplies.com/detail.asp?productid=18574

Stretch £10 more and you get yourself a grade 1 GN Catalyst. Very high quality bats, with massive edges, perfect for the power hitter of the team. Not sure about pick-up though, as the old model that i tried didn't pick-up particularly well at all.

You've got so many options for your price range, the 3 i've posted would be my 3 top choices if i was in your position, and i'd probably go for the Ballistic considering that you liked the feel of the X-Bow. Hope it helps.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

Companies wise, Puma and Kookaburra are the two I've used in the past but in general I'd be pretty open regarding companies.

KP, my computer doesn't like the links you've posted, but it might just be playing up again :p

I'm very happy with my current bat and I'd probably be looking just for something that felt the same in the hand, and so far the most similar thing has been the Angry Beast. I wouldn't order off the internet, it would definitely be from the shop about 45mins away so I'd just really be looking for an idea of makes or w/e. The Hunts stuff looks ok, but I'd probably be looking at a slightly higher grade than that (I may have under-sold my batting :p)
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

Hi all,

First post here so be nice!

heres a few pics of my bats! The first and Latest is "The Sapling" its a hand made bat from County, the same guy who makes Andrew Flintoffs bats. She weighs 3lb 4oz. I hand picked her with him, he asked what i like and made it in front of me. i must have tried 30 different unfinished bats. took an hour and i was done! oh and cost of a custom bat! £150. thats it. shes a grade 1 piece of wood as you can see from the amount of grains she has!

The Second is my Newbery samurai which weigh 2.8 oz off the shelf, cost £180 new. shes two years old but has a cracking middle (not litterally) but a little light for me.

enjoy and comments welcome:

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/tomellaway/Cricket/Sapling.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/tomellaway/Cricket/Sapling2.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/tomellaway/Cricket/SaplingSamurai.jpg
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/tomellaway/Cricket/SaplingSamuraiGrains.jpg
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

nice bat mate but the sampling just looks plain im suggesting to put some stickers on but other than that. That is one great piece of willow you have. ;)
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

Thanks for the comment, "The Sapling" aptly named after a small tree has one hell of a middle!

i'm rather partial to not having stickers. just because when you drive back past the Opener on his return spell the wicket keeper always goes "what the hell is that?"

:laugh:
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

Nice looking bat and a steal at £150 I reckon. Bit on the heavy side for me but it certainly looks the part.

I have a thing for bats without stickers, so you're in good company!

Welcome to the forum as well!
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

thanks cambios.

At that price I might get another one made, I prefer a heavier bat. Otherwise I'm through my shots too quickly.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

Yes fairly has a slight bow to it and an oval handle with two grips.

I will take a side view 2 morrow for you.
 
Re: Buying a new cricket bat

i dont think i would ever buy a bat of the shelf again though.... especially when its cheaper to have one made how you want!
 
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