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Home Useful Bat Facts
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| Useful Bat Facts |
| Cricket bat manufacturers recommend that you thoroughly knock in and regularly maintain your cricket bat. This will significantly improve both
the playing characteristics and prolong the cricket bats life. |
| Oiling Your Bat |
| Oiling prevents moisture loss and helps the fibres of the bat to move so that it does not split or crack, and should be applied every 6 months.
If your bat has a natural face then you need to oil both the face and back of the blade, approximately a teaspoon full should be sufficient. A new
bat should have 3 light coats of oil applied to the face, toe and back of the bat at intervals of one week between coats. The bat should be left while
oil soaks in. If the blade has a cover then you need to oil the bat where it is not covered. Do not over oil. |
| What Is Knocking In |
| "Knocking In" is the term given to the process of compressing the fibres on the front face of a cricket bat until they form a strong outer surface barrier that will withstand
the impact of good quality cricket balls. (This is best done with the aid of a bat mallet that has a wooden head with a radius.) The idea is simply to harden the front face
of the blade where one would normally expect to hit the ball. Thorough knocking in is essential to prolong the life of your bat. |
| How To Knock In Your Cricket Bat |
| The Knocking In of the bat can commence after the first coat of oil has been applied and allowed to soak in. Starting gently to begin with, you need to strike the face of the
blade with the mallet in a manner so that you overlap each consecutive strike. Then you gradually increase the strength of your blows until the bat can take the full force of the
mallet, as would be expected by the impact of a cricket ball in a game. Strike only the front face of the blade, not the sides, bottom or back. The average bat should take
between 6 - 8 hours to compress. Generally the better the quality of the blade the more knocking in required. The next step is to hit short catches or defensive shots with an old,
quality soft cricket ball. Then look at the blade. If you can see seam marks or identations on the blade of the bat, further knocking in is necesary. |
| Kashmir Willow |
| Many people ask us what this is. Kasmir willow comes from India and is much harder than English willow and hence does not have the same characteristics. They are ideally starter
bats for junior cricketers in sizes 1 - 4 and to be used mainly with softer balls. |
| General Maintenance and Recommendations |
| If surface cracks appear you must eliminate them by sand papering along the grain. Anti-scuff is very good for minimising the continual need to sand the blade and should be fitted
after the bat has been "knocked in". Anti-scuff should be removed after 6 months use to allow for re-oiling. Never store your bat close to a central heating radiator, in the boot of a car
or in any other excessively heated environment. To do so will cause the bat to dry out and could lead to splitting or cracking. The best place is generally in an unheated environment. |
| Fordham Refurbishment Service. Any bat fully run in by us will qualify for an end of season refurbishment at a cost of £20.00 between 1st September - 31st December |
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