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best bat brand

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
So which is it in your opinion. Kookaburra GM or something else?

Seems interesting to me that no one brand has ever cornered the market amongst international players - are they all equal?

What are your views.
 

Hurricane

Hall of Fame Member
DWTA

DFs used to the worst bats in the world - so poorly balanced. Kookaburra's didn't used to be much chop and then they really improved about 10 years ago.

I know Jesse Ryder shares your view though having changed brand in the middle of a series.
 

wellAlbidarned

International Coach
That's what I mean - for any one person some brands/bats will be unusable, some will feel perfect, then you ask another person and they have the opposite opinion.

On Jessie Ryder - all (almost anyway) international players use their own custom bat and just have the sponsor's stickers slapped on to them. They're not necessarily using a bat made by that company.
 

timet

Cricket Spectator
I am a fan of Millichamp and Hall. They are hand crafted, use excellent quality willow and have a nice oval handle.
 

Burgey

Request Your Custom Title Now!
I think the reason internatinoal players haven't all gone with one maker is they sign a deal with a certain sponsor and then have their bats made precisely to their own specs anyways.

There was a long line of conjecture in the early 90s to the effect that the vast majority of Australian players were using Millichamp bats which were rebadged with their sponsor's logos anyway.
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
That's what I mean - for any one person some brands/bats will be unusable, some will feel perfect, then you ask another person and they have the opposite opinion.

On Jessie Ryder - all (almost anyway) international players use their own custom bat and just have the sponsor's stickers slapped on to them. They're not necessarily using a bat made by that company.
Not really the case - I worked for a bat maker (one of the ones mentioned earlier) and every single international player on our books had their bats made by us. Yes they weren't the shapes and weights seen in your local sports shop, but they were made at our factory to their specifications.

I doubt any major brand would be all that pleased with simply having their stickers plastered to someone elses handiwork.
 

Mike5181

International Captain
I had a Kookaburra growing up to emulate the great Nathan Astle. I had to change it later to a GM Purist Original which was awesome.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
Yeah, I remember hearing all the talk when I was younger about other bat makers sorting out a GN sponsored player. But in my experience it's not the case, the exception being when batsmen go overseas and try to pick up some sticks there.
 

El Nino

School Boy/Girl Captain
The bats international players are using aren't specifically made by that company. Lots are handcrafted by smaller companies perfectly suited to them, then stickers whacked on it. I Know Fisher in Melbourne used to make bats for a few Aussie players.
 

Amobokobokoboko

U19 12th Man
As I once said before, a bat is only as good as the person using it.
When it comes to brands. I love my Kookaburra and the last bat I bought was a GM Flare.
Such a beauty but my Kook plays a bit better.
 

keeper

U19 Vice-Captain
In my experience they're all ****. About time they developed a bat that did what it's supposed to do and hit the bloody ball from time to time.
 

intcricket

U19 12th Man
I think BDM, SG bats are good. There is an Indian company that supplies bats to a lot of international players. Can't recollect the name.

But a must have from my time is Gunn & Moore.
 

keeper

U19 Vice-Captain
My lad has had two bats from smaller, independent English manufacturers. Both the Salix and Woodstock have been works of art, seriously nice bats.

I got a mid-range Slazenger that is ridiculously light and well balanced. Wasted on me tbh.
 

TLBcricket

Cricket Spectator
I buy and sell my own brand of bats and have a little bit of experience within the market.

The big brands usually contract quite a lot of their bats out to companies such as FC Sondhi and SG. The top of the range bats are usually made in house. There is no way that these brands can make everything in house.

SG for example make 1000-1200 bats every DAY! They make for such brands as Kookaburra, Adidas, Puma & Gray-Nicolls.

Many smaller brands in the UK produce real quality handmade cricket bats, where they make everything inhouse. From splitting the willow into clefts, pressing the willow and then shaping and finishing the bat.

Quite hard to say which is the best brand, but Newbery have all of their top graded bats made by Tim Keeley who is well known for his great bats, especially the way they are pressed. Laver & Wood in New Zealand are also very good.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
Seen quite a few Screaming Cats around, they're usually pretty darn good sticks, very flat shape though. Laver and Wood is a ripping brand, one of the blokes from our club gets them sent over to him.
 

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