he Hermanson family has been involved in Cricket for 20 years, from the days of the Stuart Surridge brand ownership, and our sponsoring of great players like Adrian Kuiper, Lance Klusener and Alan Donald, to the present day specialist cricket shop called Sports Horizons… there’s surely no-one better to advise you on how to buy a cricket bat or fit a pair of pads etc.
If you need some expert advice on which bat shape or weight suits you best… or in fact anything relating to cricket in general… feel free to pop in and pay us a visit… we’re open 7 days a week!
We stock cricket equipment brands like Gunn & Moore (GM Cricket), Adidas, Kookaburra, Sunridges, Slazenger and Puma, and cricket footwear brands like Asics, Nike, Adidas, Gunn & Moore and Puma.
How To Choose Your Cricket Bat Measure your height to see what size you are! > What weight and size suits you? With the many changes in the way bats are shaped and the thickness of the initial English Willow cleft that each bat is crafted from, weights and pick-up have improved to such an extent, that, given the same technology 30 years ago, who knows how the statistics of this period would have changed. Two and a half inch thick sides on a bat weighing only 1200 grams would have given the Graeme Pollocks’ and Barry Richards’ of the game an extra 25 meters of length on their lofted drives. So today, we have these extraordinary bats available to not only the sponsored internationals, but to you as well. The choice you make must be based, however, on the individual pick-up that each bat gives you. Choose a bat that “feels” right, no matter what it weighs. | |
> How? Hold the bat in your stance, and play a couple of imaginary shots. Let the bat settle in a position in your stance where it ‘feels’ as though the bat is balanced or “weighted”. Usually, that’s at a 45% angle to the ground. Unless the bat you are holding is able to give you that ‘feeling’, of weightlessness its probably too heavy or if it feels as though you can lift it further up your back-lift with no pressure to your hands, its too light. | |
> What shape? High ridges or scoops on the back, curved blade, convex face, flat face, thick edges, thin edges, cone handles, round handles, thin handles, thick handles… | |
> How do you decide? Generally, the thickness of the bat, no matter where, makes for more power, but not necessarily more control. Are you a big person, small person, have strong arms, or normal arms proportionally speaking. Remember, you have to balance the power with the control. | |
> Which brand? Try a couple of different bats that feel good. With so many outstanding brands on the market, decisions based on what it looks like, who uses it and how many times you see it advertised won’t help you when you are out in the middle. Find the one that works for you. However, brand loyalty and past success help your confidence, and that’s more important than nearly all other aspects. |