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Cricket Equipment
Cricket Equipment - Cricket Bats.
This is a one stop shop for cricket equipment. Cricket bats, cricket clothing, cricket pads, cricket boots, cricket helmets, cricket balls and much more...
Cricket Bat Manufactures: Gray - Nicolls Cricket bats, Slazenger Cricket Bats, Kookaburra Cricket Bats, Woodworm Cricket Bats, Puma Cricket Bats, Gunn & Moore Cricket Bats, Canterbury Cricket Bats, Hunts County Cricket Bats, Newbery Cricket Bats, Salix Cricket Bats, Millichamp & Hall Cricket Bats, Fearnley Cricket Bats, MRF & Chase Cricket Bats.
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Bat information for Club Cricket
Top quality cricket bats are all made from English willow (Salix Alba Caerulea). Willow is a fibrous wood with an open cell structure which can be mechanically pressed to induce hardness and thus improve resilience to damage. Experiments using alternative materials have been carried out but no timber has been found to replace or improve on willow. A famous Australian fast bowler once took to the field in a test match with a bat made from aluminium, an argument ensued which almost forced the game to be abandoned.
One of the most popular talking points with cricket bats is the amount of grains that a good bat should have. The ‘grains’ of a cricket bat are those natural wood lines running up and down a bat that represent one year of growth for that particular willow tree. A bat with around 7-10 grains is considered to be about the optimum number.
Lesser quality bats will be made from Kashmiri willow (a region in northern India) but this timber is harder than English willow and results in bats that last well but do not have the dynamic qualities of its English counterpart. You will not see any county, state or international player using a bat made from Kashmiri willow!
The handle is as important as the blade and a good quality handle will be made from around twelve pieces of Sarawak cane and rubber springs. Modern materials such as carbon and titanium are now finding their way into the bat handle with claims of improved stiffness resulting in better power transfer.
The optimum striking zone on a cricket bat is 5"-8" up from the toe and in the middle of the blade. The edges and the toe are vulnerable areas of the blade and can be protected with fibreglass reinforced tape or an anti-scuff covering (a self adhesive film) which is available from most cricket suppliers and protects the bats face.
All good quality cricket bats will require several hours of conditioning prior to use, a process which is commonly known as "knocking in". A cricket ball travelling at 70mph can cause severe damage to anything it hits, hence the array of protective equipment available to the players. You must therefore assume that no matter how much your bat costs or however much you prepare it prior to use, damage is inevitable! The most expensive bats hit the ball furthest but are lightly pressed and last the least amount of time! |
