Cricket Bat Oil and Knocking

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kirti123

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Cricket Bat Oil and Knocking

Hi. I was wondering if I can use baby oil to oil my cricket bats. I bought my bats a few days ago and it is a SS and a sigma. Also Can i use a cricket ball to knock my bats by bouncing the ball on the face. All answers will be appreciated.

Thank You in advance.
 
Re: Cricket Bat Oil and Knocking

Do not use baby oil as it will only cause long term damage to the wood. The only oil you should be using is RAW Linseed oil.

As for knocking the bat in, then an old ball in sock will do the job although a bat mallet is probably better.
 
Hi, no, definatley don't use baby oil for your bats, you should only be using raw linseed oil, which most cricket retailers will sell for about $6. Yes, you could probably use a ball to bounce on your bat to knock it in, but if you really want your bats to have a long life and be the best protected they can be, then you should firstly use the linseed oil. Let it dry, before either using a special bat mallet or an old ball to knock the bat in, preferably for 4-6 hours. Then hit some short, sharp catches in the backyard, or get the person who hits the catches at training to use your bat to play it in. For the last stage of the knocking in process get a mate or a family member to go down to the nets with you and throw a few balls to you, only playing straight to start with. Slowly build up the newness of the balls you use until you work your way up to the new ball.
 
You do need to use only raw linseed oil, as the way it interacts with the willow as it dries is vital to minimise the fragility of your bat - it seals in moisture and hardens the wood's fibres. It's not tremendously expensive, and you can find it in hardware stores and most places that sell cricket equipment. Don't use boiled linseed oil as it doesn't work the same way.

Also, while you never need to use too much oil it's good practise to be careful with any cloths that get soaked in oil. Raw linseed oil evaporates exothermically, which means it builds up heat as it dries, and oil-soaked cloths can catch fire in extreme circumstances - always lay the cloth out flat to dry so there's no chance of heat building up. It's extremely unlikely to happen, but better safe than sorry.
 
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