How to choose the best Cricket bat
A good cricket bat is a must thing to have to play cricket. Choosing a perfect cricket bat is more difficult than you think. Almost every bat looks the same which makes it even tougher. Selection of a wrong size/ weight bat will reduce your level of performance. So here I am to help you out. Today I am posting some simple steps to keep in mind while buying a Cricket bat. The following steps will help you to find the best suitable bat for you.
Selection Steps:
Requirement:
First of all you should keep in mind your requirement. If you play with tennis balls, a tennis cricket bat is good enough for you. If you play with leather balls, you should buy thicker bat.
Size:
There are various sizes available. You should choose the size according to your height. This picture will show you the height and size relation.
H*= Harrow. SH*= Short Handle. LH*= Long Handle.
Willow:
This is one of the most important thing to choose. There are mainly two types of willows in the world used to make bats. These are English Willow and Kashmir Willow. English Willow is preferred by majority of bat manufacturers. English Willow Bats are costlier than Kashmir Willow. English Willow Bats have more stroke, power and performance. These are imported bats. Kashmir Willow Bats are cheaper and good for beginners.
Weight:
This is the essential part of buying a bat. The heavier bats are durable and provide more power to the shots. A lighter bat will allow you to play all the shots with faster bat speed and better control. English Willow Bats are lighter than Kashmir Willow. So, you should select your bat according to its feel and pickup. Sometimes heavy bats feel lighter due to smart bat making technique. It also depends on your hold.
Grains:
Grains are the lines present on the Face of the bat. They show the age of the willow. The more the grains (10+) the better bat performs from early stage. But it will last a little shorter than less grained bats. The less grains (6-) bat have a stronger wood and longer life. So I suggest you should go for 6 to 8 grain bat. It will provide you a perfect combination of performance and durability.
More or narrow grain.
Less or wide grain.
Batting Style:
Your batting style can help you to decide the shape of the bat. Front foot players have success with bats with lower middle. Back foot players usually choose higher middle bats.
Pitch type:
Pitches of different locations behave differently. Pitches of Indian subcontinent like India or Sri Lanka have low bounce. Batsmen from these countries prefer bats with lower middle. Countries like Australia and South Africa have harder, bouncier pitches. There batsmen prefer bats with higher middle.
Grips:
Just like the bats, every hand is different. Batsman’s hands affect the design of handle. If a batsman has small hands, he can go for a thinner handle. This can be managed by applying extra rubber grips. The grips help you to get the actual width and feel of the handle you want. Many players like to have two grips. It provides lighter pickup and improved bat speed. But it also adds some extra weight to the bat. Choose number of grips on the basis of your feel of the bat.
Handle:
A good handle absorb the shock created from the ball. Oval shape in the lower handle provides strength to its structure. It improves the pickup of the bat. It also provides players a better directional feel. But it is difficult to grip oval handle bat too hard. As a result the top hand controls the shot. So I recommend the technical batsmen to go for oval handled bat. Round handle provide more control to the bottom hand. Thus hard hitting batsmen must go for round handled bats. You can select the length of your handle as per your comfort level.
Oval handles.
Toe guard:
The toe of the bat is not as strong as its middle. A bat is designed to hit the ball from the center of the blade. That is 6-8 inches up from the toe. Toe contains less amount of wood. When batsmen face Yorkers, ball meets the toe end of the bat. The impact of fast moving bat meeting the speed of the ball can be very high. It can cause the wood to dent or split. It can be prevented through fitting a toe guard. So I suggest you should fit a toe guard to the bat to reduce the risk of breakage. Many cricket bats come with a toe guard attached.
Brands:
There are many reliable brands available in the market. Some of them are Adidas, Reebok, Puma, GM, SS, SG, Kookaburra and Gray Nicolls etc. Kookaburra and Gray Nicolls are one of the most popular and trusted brands. Prices may vary with brands and models.
A good bat is a combination of the taste of a batsman and the skill of a bat maker. The bat is made of wood, which is a natural product. There has to be some small knots or spots on the bat. So the bat must always be chosen on the basis of the feel and not looks.
A great cricket bat is not going to make you a great batsman. But it’s the only tool you have to prove your talent and skills. The correct bat will help you to become as good batsman as you can be
Source: How to choose a Cricket Bat
You can also go through this video.
I hope this answer will surely helps you
Selection Steps:
Requirement:
First of all you should keep in mind your requirement. If you play with tennis balls, a tennis cricket bat is good enough for you. If you play with leather balls, you should buy thicker bat.
Size:
There are various sizes available. You should choose the size according to your height. This picture will show you the height and size relation.
H*= Harrow. SH*= Short Handle. LH*= Long Handle.
Willow:
This is one of the most important thing to choose. There are mainly two types of willows in the world used to make bats. These are English Willow and Kashmir Willow. English Willow is preferred by majority of bat manufacturers. English Willow Bats are costlier than Kashmir Willow. English Willow Bats have more stroke, power and performance. These are imported bats. Kashmir Willow Bats are cheaper and good for beginners.
Weight:
This is the essential part of buying a bat. The heavier bats are durable and provide more power to the shots. A lighter bat will allow you to play all the shots with faster bat speed and better control. English Willow Bats are lighter than Kashmir Willow. So, you should select your bat according to its feel and pickup. Sometimes heavy bats feel lighter due to smart bat making technique. It also depends on your hold.
Grains:
Grains are the lines present on the Face of the bat. They show the age of the willow. The more the grains (10+) the better bat performs from early stage. But it will last a little shorter than less grained bats. The less grains (6-) bat have a stronger wood and longer life. So I suggest you should go for 6 to 8 grain bat. It will provide you a perfect combination of performance and durability.
More or narrow grain.
Less or wide grain.
Batting Style:
Your batting style can help you to decide the shape of the bat. Front foot players have success with bats with lower middle. Back foot players usually choose higher middle bats.
Pitch type:
Pitches of different locations behave differently. Pitches of Indian subcontinent like India or Sri Lanka have low bounce. Batsmen from these countries prefer bats with lower middle. Countries like Australia and South Africa have harder, bouncier pitches. There batsmen prefer bats with higher middle.
Grips:
Just like the bats, every hand is different. Batsman’s hands affect the design of handle. If a batsman has small hands, he can go for a thinner handle. This can be managed by applying extra rubber grips. The grips help you to get the actual width and feel of the handle you want. Many players like to have two grips. It provides lighter pickup and improved bat speed. But it also adds some extra weight to the bat. Choose number of grips on the basis of your feel of the bat.
Handle:
A good handle absorb the shock created from the ball. Oval shape in the lower handle provides strength to its structure. It improves the pickup of the bat. It also provides players a better directional feel. But it is difficult to grip oval handle bat too hard. As a result the top hand controls the shot. So I recommend the technical batsmen to go for oval handled bat. Round handle provide more control to the bottom hand. Thus hard hitting batsmen must go for round handled bats. You can select the length of your handle as per your comfort level.
Oval handles.
Toe guard:
The toe of the bat is not as strong as its middle. A bat is designed to hit the ball from the center of the blade. That is 6-8 inches up from the toe. Toe contains less amount of wood. When batsmen face Yorkers, ball meets the toe end of the bat. The impact of fast moving bat meeting the speed of the ball can be very high. It can cause the wood to dent or split. It can be prevented through fitting a toe guard. So I suggest you should fit a toe guard to the bat to reduce the risk of breakage. Many cricket bats come with a toe guard attached.
Brands:
There are many reliable brands available in the market. Some of them are Adidas, Reebok, Puma, GM, SS, SG, Kookaburra and Gray Nicolls etc. Kookaburra and Gray Nicolls are one of the most popular and trusted brands. Prices may vary with brands and models.
A good bat is a combination of the taste of a batsman and the skill of a bat maker. The bat is made of wood, which is a natural product. There has to be some small knots or spots on the bat. So the bat must always be chosen on the basis of the feel and not looks.
A great cricket bat is not going to make you a great batsman. But it’s the only tool you have to prove your talent and skills. The correct bat will help you to become as good batsman as you can be
Source: How to choose a Cricket Bat
You can also go through this video.
I hope this answer will surely helps you
I really enjoyed reading this guide! It helped me understand how to choose the best cricket bat for my style and budget. Thank you for sharing such simple tips!
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