Preparation Of A Cricket Bat
Having carefully selected a new cricket bat it is important to appreciate a few points to gain maximum enjoyment from the bat for as along as possible. Please read this entire sheet before using your new bat.
We recommend all bats be fitted with a protective face and toe-guard, to prevent damage from miss hits, ‘tapping’ the crease, accidental impacts and most of all dampness!
If any liquid, other than linseed oil, is absorbed by the blade, it will add weight and cause swelling, making the bat very vulnerable to damage, as expanded wood is much softer. However, bats must never be forced dried or exposed to excessive heat, which will dry the blade out making it brittle. Bats should be stored in DRY AND reasonably COOL conditions. Not in car boots or near heat sources, such as radiators.
If the blade is left ‘natural’ then raw linseed oil should be applied to any bare wood on the face, edges and toe (NEVER let oil get anywhere near the splice of the handle). This should be done ‘sparingly’ (a bottle of linseed oil should last for many years) two or three times on a new bat, thereafter two or three times a year (beginning, middle and end of each season). It’s best to prepare the wood first with fine sandpaper, apply the oil carefully with your hand or old rag, and then leave the bat face upwards overnight, to allow for maximum penetration. Similarly oiling should occur before knocking-in compresses the blade and inhibits penetration. Linseed oil is a ‘water hater’ and helps to maintain the natural malleability of the wood. But too much linseed oil will add weight, deaden the drive and in extreme cases even rot the blade.
However much a manufacture claims that a bat is ready for use ‘pre-knocked in’, it is vital that care is taken to ascertain how ‘prepared’ it is compared to the use you will be asking from it.
Please always remember the wood used, Salix Coerula, is soft and ‘springy’ for performance but also able to be compressed for durability. All bats are ‘pressed’ as part of the manufacturing process, typically by 1.5-2 tons per sq inch. Too much pressure in pressing can deaden the ‘drive’ of the bat, too little and it’s more vulnerable to damage.
Knocking In
Knocking in serves two purposes, firstly and mostly, it ‘hand’ finishes the compression process to maximize the bats durability, and secondly it helps to get fibres inside the blade used to moving in and out to rebound the ball.
Knocking in should take about 30 to 90 minutes if a wooden bat mallet is used. Any other method will either take much longer or be much less effective. Knocking in should be in 5 to 10 minute intense sessions, spread apart over several days. Begin firmly tapping all over the last 2/3rds of the face of the blade, then and at each stage, check how readily the bat is absorbing the impacts by lifting the bat up towards a light and observing how much the blade has been ‘dented’. It should have very slight little not large dents; adjust how hard you hit the bat to how ready it is.
Each session should gradually increase in impact, while concentrating mostly towards the edges, and mostly further down the blade including the toe. Never hit the edges from the side, this is counterproductive; it will lift the pressing as the grain of the wood runs from the face to the back of the blade. Taping carefully, the corner of the edges and toe at a slight ankle to ‘round’ them off is a good idea.
After about 6 to 8 sessions you should be hitting the blade very hard. It is worth testing by bouncing a ball on it as high as possible without making ‘seam’ marks. Some bats will knock-in easily and quickly some will take longer and take more care. Keep increasing the level of impact each session until you are hitting it as hard as reasonable possible, then try some gentle ‘throw downs’ and increase how hard you hit them, all the time checking the blade for the reaction to the impacts. When (after about 10 to 12 sessions) you are hitting the blade as hard as you are able, it is ready for serious net and match play.