Cricket Bat Oiling

[tushar55]

I just picked up a Gray Nicolls X181 500S during the boxing day sales for $209 (down from $349, a pretty good price imo), its got an extremely light pickup and balance and im loving it. I wasn't sure how many coats of oil to give it though as I'm going to apply an extratec sheet after knocking it in and heaps of websites recommend using 2 coats of a tea spoon full of oil, but I'm only using a light coat on a chux rag.

 

[Hurricane]

I don't know what an extratec sheet is. But usually it is either a sheet of plastic or oiling but not both.

There are some good web sites for instructions on how to oil your bat.

 

[YorksLanka]

i applied a scuff face to a new SF VA900 i bought a couple of years ago whilst back in Sri Lanka on holiday and i now realise that i should have oiled it first and allowed the wood to harden. I have now removed the scuff sheet after follwing the various instructions about haridryer use etc, sanded it down and re-oiled. It seems like a different bat now the wood has toughened up and i can actually feel the ping off the middle..in terms of oiling,my two penneth worth is pour a little onto a rag and wipe it over the surface a couple of times, then leave the bat horizontal to allow the oil to seep into the bat then start to know in after a few days..hope it goes well and you score a bucket load of runs with the new blade...

 

[The Coach]

i applied a scuff face to a new SF VA900 i bought a couple of years ago whilst back in Sri Lanka on holiday and i now realise that i should have oiled it first and allowed the wood to harden. I have now removed the scuff sheet after follwing the various instructions about haridryer use etc, sanded it down and re-oiled. It seems like a different bat now the wood has toughened up and i can actually feel the ping off the middle..in terms of oiling,my two penneth worth is pour a little onto a rag and wipe it over the surface a couple of times, then leave the bat horizontal to allow the oil to seep into the bat then start to know in after a few days..hope it goes well and you score a bucket load of runs with the new blade...

I prefer to rub the oil in with my fingers as the rag will always absorb some of the oil, whereas your fingers don't.
One light coat pre-season and another after a rub-down / check-over at the end of the season - don't make the mistake of over oiling, the bat will get heavier and have a dead feel to it.

I prefer to use one-inch bat tape on new bats, just until they're hardened up & knocked in. Protect the edges and the top and bottom of the hitting zone on the face. A full face fibre cover can be used but don't leave it on for more than a season and miss an oil cycle. But they can be a bit of a bugger to get off.

 

[YorksLanka]

i applied a scuff face to a new SF VA900 i bought a couple of years ago whilst back in Sri Lanka on holiday and i now realise that i should have oiled it first and allowed the wood to harden. I have now removed the scuff sheet after follwing the various instructions about haridryer use etc, sanded it down and re-oiled. It seems like a different bat now the wood has toughened up and i can actually feel the ping off the middle..in terms of oiling,my two penneth worth is pour a little onto a rag and wipe it over the surface a couple of times, then leave the bat horizontal to allow the oil to seep into the bat then start to know in after a few days..hope it goes well and you score a bucket load of runs with the new blade...

sorry meant "knock" in..

 

[YorksLanka]

I am NOT a happy bunny, i recently bought a Spartan MC500 for £100, knocked it in for about 6-7 hours concentrating on the bottom and edges, used it today in a practice match and after the SECOND ball, it cracked at the base??Its going back to the shop in monday to be either fixed or my money back..gutted as it looked like a really nice bat...

 

[Hurricane]

Yeah,,,did the 6-7 hours knocking it in include net time against an old ball?

 

[YorksLanka]

No this was only knocking in with a mallet but a little bit with an old ball on a rope in the back garden..I didn't even think about using it the nets before doing this and as I was saying, second ball and that was it.. It's been sent back to the factory so will have to wait until after Easter to see what they are going to do about it...

 

[Hurricane]

I hate to be an after the fact preacher - but always have a hit around in the nets with an old ball before using in a game. And in the first net - don't hit any fours - just milk the bowling around for 1s and 2s.

 

[YorksLanka]

To be honest it was a practice game, so old ball, bowlers only bowling off a couple of steps as it wasn't particularly dry...I tried to do everything right but let's see what Spartan come back with.. Irrespective of all of this, £100 for two balls isn't good value in most peoples book...

 

[YorksLanka]

Update(for anyone who is interested) bat has been repaired by Spartan and is whizzing its way back to me..