When it comes to purchasing your new bat, you'll probably want to know what grade of timber has been used.
Most customers will of course look for the higher grades available in the price range they are looking at. However is this a crucial factor in terms of selection?
Grading -
When selecting your new bat - the grade of timber is most likely going to be considered, however finding out the differences can be quite difficult - JS Wright & Sons offer the following guidelines -
A Grade 1 is the best looking blade, though it will not necessarily play the best. There may be some red wood evident on the edge of the blade. The grain on the face will be straight and there will be a minimum of 6 grains visible. There may be the odd small knot or speck in the edge or back but the playing area should be clean.
A Grade 2 blade is also very good quality and normally a larger amount of red wood can be seen on the edge of a blade, this has no effect on the playing ability of the bat it is purely cosmetic. Again there will be at least 6 straight grains on the face of the blade with maybe some blemishes, pin knots or “speck” visible, we also put the top 2% of the excellent quality butterfly blades that we get into Grade 2.
This is a middle grade that is produced in much higher numbers than the top grades and it offers very good value for money. A Grade 3 Blade has up to half colour across the blade which again has no direct relation to the playing ability of the wood, it just has less visual attraction. There will be a minimum of 5 grains on the face of the blade which may not always be perfectly straight. Again some small knots or butterfly stain may be present with sometimes more prominent “speck”.
A Grade 4 Blade is normally over half colour or contains butterfly stain. It will still play as well as the other grades. Any number of grains are possible with often only 4 grains, the willow containing ‘butterfly’ stain is very strong, there could also be more “speck” and other faults.
Grains - The number and width -
What should you look for when selecting a bat? This question is by far the most common question we are asked when helping customers choose their new English Willow bat in our shops.
There are a few common things we look for when helping our customers choose their new cricket bat - Number of Grains, width of grains, appearance of any redwood, or knots - and also the consistency of the willow.
Most of our "top end" cricket bats will offer amazing consistency in terms of the number of grains, the distance they are spaced out, a the lack of any major blemishes, and usually minimal if any at all appearance of redwood. This will offer a superb playing surface which is very consistent and usually will play very nicely.
However as JS Wright & Sons mention on their website, this is not always something which every player must look for when choosing a new English Willow cricket bat. JS Wright & Sons offer the following information which might help choosing your new English Willow cricket bat -
OTHER GRADES AND WHAT MAKES A GOOD BAT?
We have many other Grades which have been developed over the years to satisfy the different demands from all the different markets across the world.
Q: “What makes a good bat?” The answer is that 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.
The only main differences in the grade are the visual appearance of the wood including amounts of butterfly stain plus the number of blemishes or knots on the blade and the straightness of the grain. Generally the more colour in the blade 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.