0466 062 260
Which Cricket Bat For Me
It seems like the first thing you should know when spending a lot of money for a piece of wood but it's surprising how many people that come in and prioritize the wrong things or are not sure where to start. After serving a fair amount of customers and annalyzing what's the best facets to choosing a bat we've prioritized them on order and giving you a great place to start all the way to getting you a bat that is uniquely special to you, as cricket is a sport with so much individual variance and no 2 players are the same.
1.Playing style
So starting off you have to think tactically on what positions you'll expect your self to bat and according to that what phase the match it would be and what lengths the bowlers would likely to bowl and on top of that take into consideration the conditions you play in mostly and you're own playing preferences eg. where you like to hit the ball, preferred shots ect.
Top Order Batter - As the ball is new and hard it will bounce more compared to anytime during the innings so would suggest a middle anywhere from the mid to high range as even the fuller balls would bounce a little more onto the mid part of the bat if you are a front foot player, or the higher middle for someone that prefers to hang on the backfoot and prefers the backfoot drives, cuts and pull. The weight range would mostly be from the mid to light depending on the personally preference and facing more so the pace bowler you would need a weight range to counter that.
Middle Order Batter - As the ball starts to soften so does the bounce get's little lower but with early wickets you would still go in fairly early with a harder ball so you would need an all-round shape to counter all situations with more of a mid middle profile perfect right in the middle to counter any situation and against pace and slow bowlers.
Lower Order Batter - A lower order comes in later in the innings when most likely the innings is finishing off the ball is at it's softest and bowlers a looking to bowl full and straight or against spinners and would suggest a bat with a middle anywhere between the mid to low position to have the hitting area according to that.
Of course this isn't a hard and fast rule, you also need to consider your own playing style as someone who's strength is to front foot drive would need a lower middle for pitched up balls and someone who's strength is backfoot drives, cuts and pulls would need a higher middle for shorter pitch bowling or if its both maybe going for a mid middle profile. So it is up to induvial to determine what their strengths are and what their role is in the team and to make a decision from there as a starting point.
2. Determining the Right Weight
This is mostly an induvial preference as each person has different levels of strength and different comfort in feel but ideally whatever weight you choose you should be able to play all shots comfortable without extra effort especially when comparing how much extra effort it is to play your straight bat shots compared to cross bats shots (eg. cuts & pulls) and its good to get a general weight range with in 2-3oz
3.Pick Up
Once you have a shape and general weight then it's all bout how it feels in the hand now this can be determined by your self or an expert like one of us to help you out, as some bats can genuinely feel 1-2oz lighter than their dead weight and some can feel heaver then their dead weight and that all due to
a.) the bat makers and how they have crafted the bat and
b.) the wood its self as some times it can be denser in certain parts making for the weight to be distributed unevenly making for a lighter or heavier pick up
4. Ping
If the shape is good and the pick up feels great in the hands then the next determining factor would be how good it plays you can easily find this out by tapping an old cricket ball on the main playing area or even with a bat mallet and feeling how it responds. If the mallet is kicking back after making contact or the ball is rebounding without putting much effort then you're on to a good one! If you're unsure then get one of us to help out!
5.Looks
Now if it gets to the point where you've done all the above and still can't decide between 2 or more bats then you can go for something more cosmetic that isn't generally gonna affect the playing but more so how it looks whether that be better grains or stickers BUT this should be done only after the above and never to start your process as the best looking bat is very much likely not always going to be the best performing bat and you need a bat that scores you runs and not just looks good.
5.ONLINE Orders
After a bat is purchased online and if customers hasn't chosen a specific bat already we go through each individual order using steps 3,4 and 5 of the stock available to determine the best bat available in the specific model bought. We make sure we have a process in place to ensure our customers are getting the absolute best available.
