Cricket bat care

bboy0001

New Member
Cricket bat care

Hi, i have just sanded and oiled my bat it has been great i have only used in once in the nets, but i have a small problem. The bat has a awesome middle and everything but there are some spots on the bat that feel really hard when playing a shot, shot i put another 2 or so coats of oil to soften it up a little?:confused:
 
Re: Cricket bat care

Oil won't really soften it and too much can rot the wood.

Try knocking it in a bit more on the hard spots but if it's hard, then it's hard I'm afraid.
 
Re: Cricket bat care

bboy0001;377044 said:
Hi, i have just sanded and oiled my bat it has been great i have only used in once in the nets, but i have a small problem. The bat has a awesome middle and everything but there are some spots on the bat that feel really hard when playing a shot, shot i put another 2 or so coats of oil to soften it up a little?:confused:

Hi bboy,

Mas Cambios has correctly said it in fewer words than I, but anyway....................

You might like to look at this link....

Worlds Largest English Cricket Bat Willow Supplier

You will see a range of potential flaw characteristics found in bats. Of these the most likely to be very hard are the knots and the butterfly stains based on my experience anyway. Others may like to comment further. Also if you have a bat that is fine grained in some areas this can create a dense area that seems very hard. If you feel after looking at the pictures, that any of this is producing your hard spots then their is not a lot that you can do to soften those areas. The imperfections particularly, knots and butterfly stains, can go deep into the timber. Be wary of over oiling the bat as well, since this can reduce the natural sping/flex in the timber fibres of the bat if it gets in too deep. Shallow surface coating is only required.

While it may be a little less comfortable when hitting the ball on these hard areas of the bat, it should not make the bat unserviceable at all. As you say it has a great middle.

As a general rule, the higher the grade of willow the less likely such imperfections are present.

By the way if it is of use to you, I usually live by this knocking in method from an English bat craftsman now resident/operating in NZ.
Laver & Wood Online: Individually Handcrafted Cricket Bats
It's a good read.

Hope this is relevant and of some help.
 
Re: Cricket bat care

lol my bat doesnt have any of these 'imperfections' it just feels dead about 3 mm below the middle of the bat.
 
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