Types of Cricket Bats | Cricketcriteria

 Cricket Bats

           Cricket bats are the specialized equipment used by the cricket players. Cricket bats may come in different sizes but the length of the cricket bat may be no more than 38 inches and the width no more than 4.25 inches. Cricket Bats are used by professional, Club, and beginners batsman. The cricket bats are made for different style of play. 

4 Types of Cricket Bats that you can purchase:

#1 English Willow Bats

Number of woods are used for the manufacturing of cricket bats but the most preferred wood for the manufacturing of professional cricket bats is English willow. English Willow is the type of wood that is used for the production of professional cricket bats all over the world because it is the only wood that can provide strength and compression needed for the cricket ball. English Willow bats are divided into five grades (1-5) with the higher grade one which means it’s the best quality and the grains are straighter on the bat.

Grade 1 is the top quality English Willow. Good straight grain structure and unbleached with minimal marking or discolouration in the face.

Grade 2 is English Willow with some irregular grain patterns and some blemishes/colouring across the English willow cricket bat blade.

Grade 3 is usually English Willow with irregular grain pattern and some marking and discolouration in the English willow cricket bat blade.

Grade 4 These bats usually have knots or other natural deformities and hence are covered.

As by the name English willow, this willow comes from England and it’s also called white willow. However, kashmir willow and English willow are not the same types of willow. They are different in color and can be recognized easily. That is Kashmir willow is probably brownish in color and English willow is much whiter in color as well as grains density of English willow is higher than kashmir willow.

Why English willow bat?

                Generally, the top batsman preferred English willow bats although Kashmir willow bats are also famous for its quality and durability but English willow bats are much lighter, softer and have best grains quality than the Kashmir willow bats and that is the reason it is preferred by most of the toppers and experienced batsman around over the world. However English willow bats are expensive as compare to Kashmir willow bats.

Recommendation and Maintenance

                English willow bats are recommended for playing with hard cricket ball. Before you start using the cricket bat, it requires knocking in and oiling. Knocking in is the process of striking the surface (face of the bat) with the old cricket ball. This will reduce the risk of bat snapping. The bat’s face need to be oiled with raw linseed oil before play to keep the bat’s surface tacky. It also acts as the protection layer on the wood and gives the better control of the shot to the batsman.

Some Popular English willow bats

• 1. SG VS 319 Extreme Cricket Bat

• 2. Kookaburra Blaze 150 Cricket Bat

• 3. GM Apex Dxm Cricket bat

• 4. Gunn Moore Flare Dxm Original Le Cricket Bat

• 5. Gray-Nicolls players PP Cricket Bat

• 6. Gray-Nicolls Omega XRD Power Blade Cricket Bat

#2 Kashmir Willow Bats

Kashmir willow is found in regions of Kashmir whereas English willow is found in England. However, these two types of willow are different in appearance as well as in quality. In appearance Kashmir willow is brownish in color whereas English willow is much whiter in color. Due to difference in color, bats made by kashmir willow can be easily distinguished from the English willow cricket bats.

                Kashmir Willow Cricket bats are used in cricket by the cricket batsman. As by their name Kashmir willow, these comes from India as well as in Pakistan, and made in the regions of Jammu and Kashmir “both in India and Pakistan” From the wood of the tree called willow, mostly found in northern India however teak and Saal wood are also used for the production of bats in the north-western region. But bats made by the teak and saal wood are not in high quality as are Kashmir willow bats. Kashmir willow bats are handmade and becoming very expensive.

Why kashmir willow is used? 

         Kashmir Willow are used in the production of bats as it is very tough and shock resistance, durable as well as very light in weight. That is the reason Kashmir willow bats are used by the professional cricket players.

Maintaining

              The face of the Kashmir willow bats or the striking area of the bat must be covered with the protection film by the user. Most cricket bats are not ready for the immediate use after purchasing. It requires knocking in. Knocking in is the process of striking the surface (face of the bat) with the old cricket ball. This will reduce the risk of bat snapping. The bat’s face need to be oiled with raw linseed oil before play to keep the bat’s surface tacky. It also acts as the protection layer on the wood and gives the better control of the shot to the batman.

Some Popular Kashmir willow bats 

• 1. MRF Street Fighter Popular Willow Cricket Bat, Short Handle

• 2. SG RSD Spark Kashmir Willow Cricket Bat

• 3. SG Maxcover Kashmir Willow Cricket Bat

• 4. DSC Scorer Kashmir Willow Cricket Bat, Short Handle

• 5. Adidas Master Blaster Rookie Kashmir-Willow Cricket Bat

#3 Softball Cricket Bats

Softball cricket bats are used to play with the softball or a tennis ball. The name softball cricket bats is given to the bat because cricket ball is made of soft rubber . They are made up of good quality wood or fiber to play with soft ball or tennis ball. However, they are different as compare to the professional cricket bats. In terms of Cost, they are not expensive when compared to English willow or Kashmir willow bats. 

Maintenance

                 English willow bats and Kashmir willow cricket bats requires knocking in and oiling to improve strokes. On the other hand, softball cricket bats are ready to play. These bats do not require knocking in and oiling as softball or tennis ball bats does not need to have strokes in it although it requires power to hit the ball. Furthermore knocking in and oiling your softball bat is not recommended.

Recommended softball bats

                     Softball bats are not only for beginners but also for everyone who plays softball cricket.As there are variety of softball cricket bats but the recommended softball cricket bats for the beginners who stepped forward in the field of cricket are

• 1. Gm six6 softball Cricket Bat

• 2. Grey-Nicolls Kwik Plastic Cricket Bat

• 3. County Crown Bsg Test Selection Bat

#4 Training Cricket Bats

Training cricket bats are specialized cricket equipment to improve and help you to practice your cricket skill. There is no particular piece of wood in manufacturing of these cricket bats. Training cricket bats can be Kashmir willow or English willow, as cleared by the name training cricket bats, these cricket bats are used for the training purpose in the field of cricket.

Sizes of training cricket bats

                  Training cricket bats comes in different sizes and widths. Some of the training cricket bat’s width is half than the normal cricket bat. Some cricket bats may have shorter handle cane.

Maintenance

                     Just like other professional cricket bats. Training cricket bats also goes through knocking in and oiling process Knocking. In is the process of striking the cricket bat’s surface or the face of the cricket bat (where ball strikes) with the old ball (soft leather ball) or with the specialized mallet. This will reduce the risk of cricket bat snapping. Just like the other professional cricket bats, training cricket bats also need to cover their surfaces with the fine raw linseed oil that helps in keeping the surface of the bat tacky.Training cricket bats are intended to enhance and improve your cricket game.

Some of the training bats are

• 1. Grey Nicolls cloud catcher cricket bat: English Willow, it is the best tool to improve your hand and eye co-orination. 
• 2. Grey Nicolls fielding bat: it Helps in practicing and mastering the art of middling of the ball, both while driving and defending.

• 3. Kookaburra Kahuna Shadow Practice Training cricket bat.

• 4. Kookaburra kahuna fielder practice cricket bat.