need some advice on which bat is best for me...

[Jim2109]

need some advice on which bat is best for me...

this is probably a question that gets asked all the time, but i figure that everyone has very different styles and preferences, so i was hoping that i could specify mine and some suggestions could be made as to which manufacturer makes a bat that would best suit my style and preferences.

i am a leg spin bowler, ive barely started playing, ive only played one game, and may not play again now until next season. however, it seems that cricket bats are all on sale at the moment, i dont want to spend the earth on a bat when i will hardly ever use it, and also i want to get some practice in over the winter so that im not completely hopeless come next season!

id say im probably not bad with the bat. ive done some very limited net practice with a super cheap bat against a slow'ish bowler. however i have a rough idea of the type of shots i am better at playing, and my preferences.

i play very defensively, normally on the front foot. i try to play everything straight, when i attempt to open the face or play across my bads things go badly. im 6'2" and like to stay quite upright, im not lacking in upper body strength, but i prefer to use a lighter bat so i can manouvere it more easily. id say im more an agile batsman that plays on my toes with a small back lift than a big hitter that gives a big swing on planted feet.

so id imagine i need a bat that is good at pushing the ball away off of very little swing otherwise il just be defending balls and never making any runs. also being an inexperienced batsman if such a bat exists that works well without middling the shot then that would be nice lol.

any thoughts and suggestions? i also want to spend as little money as possible, maybe £120 tops, im hoping i can grab a bargain on old 2009 stock now that the season is coming to a close.

any suggestions on light weight pads as well? id rather not wear them, i find they get in my way, but obviously that isnt an option if i want to continue walking! so if there are some nice compact ones that are lightweight without compromising too much on protection then those would probably suit me best.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: need some advice on which bat is best for me...

Most pads are reasonably light weight these days but as always you get what you pay for. Depending on your budget then I'd be tempted to spend a little more to get some decent pads that will last (bearing in mind how often you're likely to bat).

I tend to go for Grey Nicholls and find they do the job just fine and last for a good while. I currently use these - Ignite Pads. Before that I had some Grey Nicholls Longbow pads which lasted about 6/7 years.

As for the bat, choose something around the 2'8 mark, although you may be better off going to a cricket warehouse/shop and trying a few bats out first up. You can always match it online once you have an idea what you're after.

At a guess I would probably go for a bat that has a slightly lower sweet spot as this will help to work like a pendulum and help to generate swing speed (even from a limited back lift). There are plenty out there, best way is to choose 2/3 brands you like the sound/look etc of and then do some research.

 

[Jim2109]

Re: need some advice on which bat is best for me...

Most pads are reasonably light weight these days but as always you get what you pay for. Depending on your budget then I'd be tempted to spend a little more to get some decent pads that will last (bearing in mind how often you're likely to bat).

I tend to go for Grey Nicholls and find they do the job just fine and last for a good while. I currently use these - Ignite Pads. Before that I had some Grey Nicholls Longbow pads which lasted about 6/7 years.

As for the bat, choose something around the 2'8 mark, although you may be better off going to a cricket warehouse/shop and trying a few bats out first up. You can always match it online once you have an idea what you're after.

At a guess I would probably go for a bat that has a slightly lower sweet spot as this will help to work like a pendulum and help to generate swing speed (even from a limited back lift). There are plenty out there, best way is to choose 2/3 brands you like the sound/look etc of and then do some research.

i play cricket with the owner of a local shop, so il almost certainly buy from his shop anyway, so il have a hold of all the bats in there first. its hard to know what it should feel like when youve barely hit a ball in anger though lol. having a hold of a few in the shop and then doing some research seems like pretty sound advice though.

Hunts County bats seem to be pretty cheap, but a quick search on here pulled up some fairly positive comments on them. one of their bats is available for under £40 at present in long handle size (which sounds as though it is what id require) at 2lb 9oz iirc. so thats got to be worth consideration i think. for £40 i wouldnt care if i only used it for winter and pre season practice, maybe a few games to get a feel for it, and then got something better once i start playing regularly if it isnt the right bat for me.

 

[mas cambios]

Re: need some advice on which bat is best for me...

Nothing wrong with Hunts County bats and certainly worth a look. As you said, £40 isn't that much to drop on it and it'll certainly get you through the winter and probably the next 2 seasons (unless you decide to upgrade).

 

[Jim2109]

Re: need some advice on which bat is best for me...

just as a follow up, i bought my cricket kit today. went to the local shop that is run by one of the guys that plays for my club. found out that unfortunately its closing down at the end of next month, but on the plus side for me i got a decent discount off of everything!

in the end i opted for a Kookaburra Kahuna Carnage bat with about 30% off. i went for the short handled version as that felt just as comfortable as the long handled version to me, im 6'2" so i guess im probably in between the 2 options and could get away with using either.

i held probably 2 dozen different bats from every different brand, i quite liked the feel of one of the Slazenger bats, and there was also a Woodworm one and a Puma one that also felt good. there was a GM one that felt really balanced but felt a lot heavier to swing.

the Kookaburra just "felt" the nicest to swing though. im not really sure what a bat should feel like, but this is what felt comfortable. so i guess the true test now is using it in a match. im playing on Sunday but im not sure if il get to bat or not yet. now that ive just dropped a few hundred quid im hoping i get to lol. im not too fussed as long as i get a proper go at bowling though.

as for pads i got some Newbery ones. they are part cane part high density foam, the foam being used in the less critical areas. so they are really lightweight but still feel as though they will protect well. i tried on some Gray Nicholls ones (or GM, cant remember) and they were about 50% heavier and felt less mobile. so i think i made the right choice for the money (just got to figure out how on earth im supposed to run in them!!), they were about £25. i also got some nice Puma gloves, an Albion helmet, and groin and thigh protection obviously! roll on Sunday