Selecting a Cricket bat is tough, more so through online marketplaces. Although I would recommend you to always go to a physical store and check the comfort of the bat yourself, if the website has a flexible return policy, there is no harm in trying out a wider range of options.
Bats have evolved since the time of their inception, thicker edges, greater grains and the increase in popularity of Batsmen have led to more boundaries, Cricket Bats are getting better and better, with the customizable bat industry increasing by the hour, choosing from the variety is even more difficult.
2020 pushed us into online shopping, such that it’s now a habit to most of us. Adapting to the new normal, here is a guide to buying your bat online.
Let’s first analyse the pros and cons of buying a bat online:
Pros:
Cheaper rates: This may be different depending on where you live, though online retailers generally produce cheaper bats considering that they have fewer expenses.
Wider range of Options:
Retail stores in your locality may be limited, however, there are millions of options online that you can browse through, which helps you save time.
Cons:
Fraud: Internet is accessible to everybody, hence there is a high probability that you may get scammed. Ways to avoid this is to avoid deals that are too good to be true
E.g.: “BUY THIS ENGLISH WILLOW BAT FOR ONLY 3 RS, LIMITED TIME OFFER”
Another way to go is to purchase only from trusted retailers like Amazon, Khelmart, or directly from the company’s website.
Frauds can also happen in other forms, like showcasing a lighter bat weight than the actual weight or a false copy of the sticker.
There are also certain factors you need to look into to purchase a superior quality of bat:
Willow type: I would recommend you to go for English Willow over their Kashmir counterparts, considering the fact that they are of higher quality and lighter in weight.
Kashmir willow is a valuable purchase if you are a beginner or on a tight budget.
No. of Grains: Don’t rely only on the description of the bat here, look at the image yourself, grains on a bat are straight and narrow lines that run vertically along the blade.
An ideal bat should have 5-12 grains, anything below 5 is most likely a rip-off
More than 12 grains are expensive, higher quality bats, do keep in mind your budget here.
Weight : The weight of a bat is not as important as the weight distribution, usually you should go for lighter bats to increase your bat swing speed and be able to play a wider range of shots, a good bat weight would be 1.2 to 1.4 kg, but this wholly depends on your comfort.
A good way to reach a conclusion on the weight is to go a local sports store, try out the bats, weigh the ones you are comfortable in to find out the right weight, filter the bat weight in the search bar, or look for the same model of bat online.
Size: You can use the method above for finding out the right size for your bat by going to a local sports store, here is a size chart attached for reference.
| Bat size | Height (cm) |
| Size 4 | 145-150 |
| Size 5 | 150-158 |
| Size 6 | 158-163 |
| Harrow | 163-169 |
| Full | 170+ |
Again, this depends on comfort and comfort alone, if you play better with a smaller/ larger bat size, it is better to stick to it, especially when ordering a bat online, a good, fitting size with a short handle can lead to an effective Strokeplay.
Know your play: This is a particularly important factor when it comes to selecting a bat online, you must know your game thoroughly, a player who prefers playing on the front foot should go for a bat with a relatively lower sweet spot, towards the bottom of the bat, similarly, if someone plays on the backfoot, the sweet spot should be higher towards the handle as the bounce is going to be high.
Above are the factors you need to keep in mind while purchasing a bat online, experience caution while ordering bats and do let me know in the comments if you have any doubts.
cricketorzo 