Cricket Bats should be oiled and ‘Knocked In’ prior to play. This procedure should be followed even if the bat comes from a manufacturer that markets the cricket bat as Pre-Knocked In and ready to play.

You should start by oiling the blade with Raw Linseed Oil. Use an open weave cloth and spread a light layer of oil over the main face and edges of the bat, do not apply oil to the splice of the bat (the V section where the handle meets the blade).

Stand the bat vertically, if oil is running down the blade you have applied too much and should wipe off the excess to leave a light film. Sit the bat down horizontally and leave overnight. Repeat the oiling procedure but use an even lighter coat of Linseed oil. Leave the bat lying horizontally for a further 6 hours.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Be the First One to Tell this Story to others:

Cricket Bat Blades are graded as follows:-

* Grade 1 – This is the finest Willow, the cleft will be unblemished with tight straight grains, and there may be a small amount of red wood running along the side of the blade and small knots in the back or on the edge.
* Grade 2 – This is a very good quality cleft with tight straight grain but having small visual blemishes or a larger area of red wood, neither of these slight defects will affect the blades performance.
* Grade 3 – This blade will have more colouration and visual blemishes, again these will not affect the bats performance. In many cases this willow will be bleached to make it look more attractive.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Be the First One to Tell this Story to others:

“What makes a good bat?”

It depends on the taste of the customer and the skill of the bat maker. A bat should always be chosen on “feel” and not merely what it looks like. There are bound to be some small knots or blemishes on the bat, after all it is a natural product and cannot be expected to be perfect, with no faults at all, it is just not possible.

The only main differences in the grade are the varying degrees of brown wood and / or butterfly stain plus the number of blemishes or knots on the bat. Generally the more colour in the bat the lower the grade, there is however negligible difference in the playing ability, it is purely a perception that if it looks good it will play well, this is not the case.

Butterfly stain (the stain resembles the shape of a butterfly), for example, used to be very popular for its superior strength and playing ability. Unfortunately, these days because it does not “look clean and white” people do not buy it. It does make very good bats that are very strong and perform well.

One important piece of advice is - do not select a bat which has a knot on the face of the bat since a ball hitting the knot will lose any force; knots are ‘dead zones’ on cricket bats.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Be the First One to Tell this Story to others: