How do I select a bat for myself?
Usually any cricketer especially beginner finds it difficult to make a decision
to buy a bat due to different available brands in the market.
Few differences lie between bats other than labels such as grooves cut into them
for marketing purposes.
Bats are manufactured with chunks of wood carved, grooved, steam pressed to make
it harder.
The following few standards need to be thought of before purchasing a bat.
Select a bat, which is either lacquered or have one of the new plastic bat
sleeve put over the front of the blade.
To make it simpler, buy a bat with a plastic coat on it.
Get the lightest bat, which is available in premium brands. A large man can use
a light bat as well as a small one but very few crickets play with heavy bat
irrespective of their size and shape.
Buy three additional grips and a grip applicator cone.
If you buy a lacquered or plastic sleeve bat you don't need to knock.
However if not lacquered, you will either have to soak the toe of the bat in the
saucer of linseed oil for an hour or so or get some estapol or bat lacquer and
lacquer the toe. (Only toe to be lacquered).
Well-knocked or lacquered bat will give you the extra power and ability to
punch.
How do I "knock in" a bat?
Knocking is required to avoid splinters and bits breaking off
the edges by gently tapping the bat with a mallet.
When you buy a bat, it is only lightly pressed at the factory and the fibers are
still really soft. You can feel it by pressing your fingernail into the surface
of the bat.
'Knocking in' is the process of compressing and binding these lose fibers
together to allow the bat to withstand the constant impact from the ball.
You can use an OLD, GOOD QUALITY ball in your hand or put it in a sock or try
different types of 'knocking in' mallets.
Best way is for the solid wood version. Purchase from a cricket store available
as an accessory as you'll need to make use of it many times.
Process:
Start 'knocking in' by gently working on the edges and gradually knocking them
into a rounded, compressed shape ... once you get started you'll soon see the
change in texture. Then keep working on the edges and the area around the toe of
the bat - not the bottom of the bat -
And think of trying to use glancing strokes that resemble you edging a ball to
gully, then 3rd slip, 2nd slip, etc.
While all the time gradually increasing the strength of the impact. Don't forget
to give the middle a good going over but the priority should be the outside inch
or so of the bat round both edges and the toe.
Slazenger recommend 6 hours - now that is a long, long time. If you try to do it
in good 5 minute blocks it becomes more manageable. Essentially
You don't want to think about using the bat until it's had at least 2 hours (24
x 5 minute sessions) but ideally if you can manage double that then all the
better. If you have the time and space and tolerant neighbors then the process
can be done in a week or so - most of us need a bit longer!
After the initial 2-4 hours 'knocking in,' try using it for hitting short
catches and then in the nets against OLD, GOOD QUALITY balls and only against
the spinners/slow mediums first.
A new or cheap ball can do a lot of damage to an under-prepared bat and digging
out a fast Yorker in the nets can spell doom and destruction for even the
best-prepared bat! So try and middle the ball and play the bat in - resist the
wild slogging for once!
Then do some more 'knocking in' and then some more and then some more and then
some more...
Remember, SOME bats need a LITTLE linseed oil - but no more than a couple of
teaspoonfuls per season! However, ALL BATS NEED KNOCKING IN. But don't forget
you'll still need to keep 'knocking in' throughout the life of your bat,
knocking out indentations, evening out dead spots in the bat, strengthening area
around glued repairs etc. A cricket dealer I know recommends that the day you
stop 'knocking in' is the day you throw the bat in the bin.
----Tips by Cameron Fraser
How can I control water seeping into the bat?
Probably the most common place for the moisture to seep in is through the toe. A
popular remedy for this is to cover the toe with "Shoo-Goo", which is a
silicon-like
substance that dries hard (like a tennis-shoe sole). It's designed for replacing
holes in soles of shoes, hence the name, but it works really well on the toe of
a bat. The only caveat I have for its use is that it makes the toe of the bat a
bit grippy, so you can be running, sliding the bat, and it grips and stops,
which is not desirable.
--By Matthew van de Werken
How can I maintain rubber grip sliding on the bat?
Use a second grip. The other thing is to take the grip off and wind some tape
onto the handle, overlapping it so that the ridges are going up. The only
problem is that it might change the way the bat feels in your hand.
--Tips by david Lawton
How do I put the grip on the bat?
Cricket cone is available from stores. Other wise roll the rubber up into a
doughnut and then force the rubber over the end. Once you've actually got the
rubber over the end of the handle you just unroll the rubber along the length of
the handle and smooth it down. It works well, especially with a twisting motion
with both hands using downward pressure towards the bottom of the handle.
-- Tips by Ian Didds