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Is this bat of a good quality?

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Yes.

I think. :unsure:

As a rule, bats from reputable makers tend to be good for something. Obviously, the more expensive, the better your chances. But the model you want is moulded to what style of play you're at - and at 11, the chances are the answer to that is "not fully developed".

This might also be better in CF than CC.
 

Jungle Jumbo

International Vice-Captain
Don't know about this year's models, but in the past Slazenger Panther bats have normally been the bottom-of-the-line Kashmir willow bats - i.e. not real bats.
 

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I think the Warehouse (where everyone gets a bargain) was selling this type of Slazenger bat for about $50 (GBP 20).

A friend of mine had one, it felt like a piece of balser wood and cracked in the nets after about 4 sessions.

In summary. Its crap.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
I dont know this odel but you can form a few rules for selecting a bat. I have followed it since mid 1960's and every bat I have ever possessed has been commented upon as a 'real great piece of wood'

1. Willow : Buy only English willow
2. Balance : There is a lot of talk of weight, I like a lighter bat, you may prefer a heavier one. But what matters most if the balance. Hold the bat as you stand in your normal stance and lift it as in a straight backlift. the bat that feels 'lighter' (read more comfortable/easier to lift) has the better balance.
3. Grains : Around six-seven straight grains are good. Fewer grains generally mean harder wood and poorer 'throw' but the bat will probably last longer. More grains means softer wood, better throw and generally shorter life.
4. Throw : Its not difficult to take a ball and knock it a few times. The sound and feel of the bat on ball over the 'business' part of the bat gives a very good idea of the throw of the bat.
5. Choose from many : Never be in a hurry to select a bat. I will look at at least twenty bats (and check for the above criteria), then short list 4-5 and finally select one. You will be surprised how even after you have seen and decided on a great piece of wood, how a better one will turn up.

PS Bats are expensive nowadays which means that, in all probability, twenty bats costing 350 dollars each will , on the whole be better than twenty bats costing 200 dollars. But if you have a good eye, you could find a bat in the latter lot which may be better than more than half the bats in the first. That is where the expertise in choosing a bat lies.

A good seller, by which I mean someone who knows bats, will quickly understand what kind of bat you are looking for and will help you to choose from a pool of those that fit your need. THis avoids going through zillions of bats. Fort that, however, you need to find a good seller and then stick to him for ever.

The person from whom I bought my bats from 1965 till 1995 died and though I dont buy many bats nowadays, I still miss going to his huge warehouse and chatting with him about the bats.
 
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Burgey

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So it looks like I didn't get a good quality bat :(
Sometimes though it depends on the individual stick. I've bought some top range bats, and for whatever reason they've been duds. Others have been great (the vast majority it should be said). When one of them went **** up, I went to K Mart and bought a $130 Grey Nic scoop, which sounded terrible but had a magic sweet spot to it and great balance.
Give it a go mate. When I was a bit younger, I'd sometimes hear things about certain types of bat, and the preconceived ideas I had about them meant when I came to use them, I already thought they were meh or great, when really the fact the ball didn't come off well had a lot more to do with the gumby at the end of the handle than it did the quality of he stick :).
 

Burgey

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Mate, for 20 quid, if you get a good year out of it, you've done ok.
 

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
So it looks like I didn't get a good quality bat :(
When I mentioned the prices, it was just to show a higher and a relatively lower price. I have no idea what you a good bat costs in dollars outside India. So dont assume that when I gave 200 as the lower figure I meant thats a low price for a bat. :)
 

Neil Pickup

Cricket Web Moderator
For £20 you'll get something that may conveniently double as a fencepost come the winter storms and will go well against incrediballs.

One thing that's presently doing my nut at school is the number of eleven year olds who own obscenely heavy and unbalanced bats. The blade of choice at present appears to be the Gray Nicolls Fusion, which is the one Matt Hayden uses and weighs as much as a small dog. Matthew Hayden is, however, built slightly differently from your average year seven, and doesn't have to play on pitches so soft and slow that a ball at your hips is a sure sign of a full toss. The result, hence, is a load of bottom handed mows drawn on by heavy toes and absent balance, no straight bat shots, and a hell of a lot of cleaning up going on.
 

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