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A topic in 'Off Topic' prompted this and I thought it might bring about some interesting discussion about why people use heavier/lighter bats and why they might use different styes of bats (scoop, heavy at the bottom etc.)
Personally I use two of my bats regularly:
Slazenger V600
I bought this because he just picked up SO nicely and I figured I needed a lighter bat (my 'other' bat is a Gray-Nicholls Titan and weighs in at 3lbs 5oz!) because I tend to use my wrists more than my arms these days and trying to be a wristy player with that heavy a bat was just too difficult. It has quite a large 'sweet-spot' area and with the weight evenly distributed, I can flick my wrists at short deliveries outside off-stump a little better.
I also find that the wristy flicks in the air off my hip and to fuller deliveries come easier with this bat so if a bowler strays onto leg-stump, I can flick them over square-leg for four or six much easier than when I used the GN.
MRF Conquerer: Steve Waugh signature bat
Ooooo, baby! This is my new bat and whilst I'm still fully knocking it in, man is it a treat to bat with. It's the same weight as the Slazenger but 'feels' much lighter, especially for the wristy stuff, which is surprising considering it's weighted quite differently (the weight is almost entirely at the bottom of the bat).
With this one, playing off the back-foot through cover and front-foot drives in general have never been easier but if you need to take the long-handle to someone, it's definately a slogger's bat. Easily the BEST bat I've ever used, though I'm not a fan of all the massive stickers MRF put on the bat.
Some other bats I've tried and liked include the Hunts County bats (especially the one with the honey-comb scoop thing) as they're evenly weighted and very light. The Kookaburra Kahunas are also very nice.
One negative is the Gray-Nicholls range. I've had a go with all of their range and I wouldn't buy a single one for two reasons:
1) Prices are too high for what they're worth.
2) The bats don't seem to 'pick-up' very well at all. The way they're cut seems to make them more difficult to swing, especially in the mid-priced bats.
3) Protective coating. I don't care what they say; those bats just aren't 'ready to use' at all. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that the coating kills the spring of the bat somewhat.
I used to love GN and I hope they change their range a little in the seasons to come.
In general, I prefer bats with the weight more to the bottom, especially those with the big 'Indian curve' in them. It helps in getting underneath the ball I think and bats weighted like that just seem to swing-through in a more even way, hence increasing bat-speed, power and timing, especially when you just push at the ball rather than take a full-blooded swing at it.
So what does everyone else use and why?
Personally I use two of my bats regularly:
Slazenger V600
I bought this because he just picked up SO nicely and I figured I needed a lighter bat (my 'other' bat is a Gray-Nicholls Titan and weighs in at 3lbs 5oz!) because I tend to use my wrists more than my arms these days and trying to be a wristy player with that heavy a bat was just too difficult. It has quite a large 'sweet-spot' area and with the weight evenly distributed, I can flick my wrists at short deliveries outside off-stump a little better.
I also find that the wristy flicks in the air off my hip and to fuller deliveries come easier with this bat so if a bowler strays onto leg-stump, I can flick them over square-leg for four or six much easier than when I used the GN.
MRF Conquerer: Steve Waugh signature bat
Ooooo, baby! This is my new bat and whilst I'm still fully knocking it in, man is it a treat to bat with. It's the same weight as the Slazenger but 'feels' much lighter, especially for the wristy stuff, which is surprising considering it's weighted quite differently (the weight is almost entirely at the bottom of the bat).
With this one, playing off the back-foot through cover and front-foot drives in general have never been easier but if you need to take the long-handle to someone, it's definately a slogger's bat. Easily the BEST bat I've ever used, though I'm not a fan of all the massive stickers MRF put on the bat.
Some other bats I've tried and liked include the Hunts County bats (especially the one with the honey-comb scoop thing) as they're evenly weighted and very light. The Kookaburra Kahunas are also very nice.
One negative is the Gray-Nicholls range. I've had a go with all of their range and I wouldn't buy a single one for two reasons:
1) Prices are too high for what they're worth.
2) The bats don't seem to 'pick-up' very well at all. The way they're cut seems to make them more difficult to swing, especially in the mid-priced bats.
3) Protective coating. I don't care what they say; those bats just aren't 'ready to use' at all. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that the coating kills the spring of the bat somewhat.
I used to love GN and I hope they change their range a little in the seasons to come.
In general, I prefer bats with the weight more to the bottom, especially those with the big 'Indian curve' in them. It helps in getting underneath the ball I think and bats weighted like that just seem to swing-through in a more even way, hence increasing bat-speed, power and timing, especially when you just push at the ball rather than take a full-blooded swing at it.
So what does everyone else use and why?
