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Q: This article offers essential insights to help cricketers make informed choices when purchasing a cricket bat. Over the last 15 years, the internet has enabled numerous small brands to enter the cricket bat market. While some are genuine bat makers, many simply import bats from Asia and apply their own branding. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this approach, if companies are transparent with customers. Unfortunately, some brands mislead buyers by falsely claiming to manufacture their bats in-house.
https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/158/michael-blatherwick/blog/2587/navigating-the-cricket-bat-market-a-guide-for-savvy-buyers
Michael Blatherwick
last week
blog post
This article offers essential insights to help cricketers make informed choices when purchasing a cricket bat. Over the last 15 years, the internet has enabled numerous small brands to enter the cr ...
Michael Blatherwick
last week
answered
Q: Who is the fastest bowler you’ve ever faced in a game of cricket?
A: In club cricket in England I’ve faced a few but 3 stand out as super fast:
1. Devon Malcolm played club cricket in South Yorkshire. The wicket was also very quick and bouncy. That was late 80s when there was probably only one helmet in the dressing room.
2. Mark Footitt played for Notts, Derbyshire and England. He played a lot of club cricket in the local leagues and could touch 90mph regularly. Lefty aswell with a Starc like action so pretty hard to pick up.
3. Lyndon Joseph played for the West Indian Cavaliers in the Notts Leagues in the late 90s / early 2000s. Rumour has it he was on course to play for the Windies but fell out with the wrong people.
I measured players by the person I’d least like to bowl at or bat against. Out of those 3 I would probably say Joseph - rapid and nasty with it 😀🏏
CricConnect Fans
last week
answered
Q: My son is 15 and obviously still growing but at the moment struggles a little to hit his drives through the field.
I’m interested to know if he should be using a heavier bat. What weight bat should he be using?
A: Hi Damian
The weight of bat depends on size, strength and the standard of cricket. A batter needs to handle the pace they are playing against and play the cross bat shots with ease.
It may be the grounds he is playing on, some outfields are quite long, tough grass and finding the boundary can be hard when hitting on the floor.
Back to the bat, it might be a poor bat that doesn’t ping? He may be able to handle a bat with more meat…. there are so many variables, you need a coach who understands the way he plays, the standard he plays in, his strength and size and the grounds he plays on to properly answer this. Hope that helps… Michael
Damian Anstill
9 months ago
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Q: In business the worse place to come in a deal (or tournament in the case of this analogy) is second. All the effort, hope and cost to be told you’ve just missed out, is soul destroying!
That’s why it’s best to qualify out or in with factors you know differentiate you from the competition.
In this regard, well done the England team for making an early call and qualifying out. 😉
Seriously, India will be hurting this morning, and it will take a while. However, they lost to an incredible Aussie team with strength in all departments and a brilliant game plan.
They set the tone with exceptional fielding and commitment to the plans even when India got off to a flyer.
That final partnership was fascinating to watch, especially the contrast in styles between Labuschane and Head. Some great lessons for young players on how to bat as a partnership and manage chasing down a score.
I reckon if these two teams played each other 10 times, it would be 5 each. It just happened to be Australia’s day. That’s cricket and business. Sometimes you just need a few things to go your way and stick to your plans to get the trophy. 🏆
Michael Blatherwick
last year
answered
Q: Has Bazball spooked the Australians?
Day 5 of the first test of the Ashes series will an exciting challenge for both Australia and England.
The anticipation amongst fans around the world is what test cricket is all about. Who will blink first and who will take a one nil lead in the 5-test series?
Australia needs 174 runs to win with 7 wickets in hand. Warner, Labuschagne and Smith are all back in the shed so the heavy lifting will be on the shoulders of Khawaja, Head and Carey to get Australia home.
Irrespective of the result the most surprising aspect of the test is England have for whatever reason made Australia change the way they play the game, especially with the ball in hand.
The defensive fields and the ease of which the English batters have been able to get off strike is unusual at best. Ashes Test debutant Harry Brooks was again able to play a simple defensive shot to point to get off the mark in the 2nd innings.
After two successful ramps (one six and one four) by Root off Boland early on day 4, Alex Carey came up to the stumps and a fielder was placed on the boundary just behind 2nd slip. With a deep fine leg, deep square leg, short mid-wicket and mid on there was no mid-off.
If a keeper is up to the stumps the expectation would be for the bowler to bowl full and at the stumps. A straight drive for four back down the ground is far easier than a ramp to a yorker at leg stump or a bouncer with two fielders in the deep.
Apart from Roots ramp shots, what is Bazball?
The English batters are playing with freedom and intent. They’re playing attacking cricket, good cricket shots, moving the ball into the gaps and running hard between the wickets. It’s the same as how Ricky Ponting and Matthew Hayden played and the same way David Warner has played during his career. England’s batters are just doing it as a collective.
With defensive fields set there’s no real need to play Bazball, four singles and a two is still 6 an over.
It seemed odd in the 2nd innings how long it took Australia to bowl a few bouncers. I know the game has changed but if a batter ramped Dennis Lillee or Glenn McGrath, can you imagine where the next 5 balls would be bowled. A deep fine leg and a deep square leg and suddenly, the batter is being asked a question or two.
England are playing cricket with intent; they’ve been proactive and asking questions. Australia can still win the Test. Fascinating cricket, catches win matches.
A: It is fascinating and England have definitely messed with the Aussie minds. Labuchane and Smith wouldn’t have got out on that deck usually, they would have grinded it out. Instead they’re searching for runs and feeling for the ball.
Cummins is an average captain at best and he’s clearly struggling. Starc would’ve been in my side all day long when I’d seen that deck. Nothing there for Boland.
Fascinating day ahead. You can’t take your eyes off it and everyone is talking about it so it’s good for cricket. Whether or not it’s got longevity is another thing. 2 sides playing like England on green seamers wouldn’t last 3 days 😀🏏
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Q: I'd like to ask how Australia could even consider leaving Scott Boland out of the first test of the ashes?
A: As a Pom on the morning of the Ashes I would love to see Boland left out and replaced with a bloke coming back from injury. Can’t really believe this is even a debate, Boland is made for English wickets.
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Q: As I said a few months ago this would happen sooner rather than later.
I have sympathy for England but more so for the counties that develop players and now seemingly lose them at the peak of their powers. If any county is negotiating contracts surely a future earnings clause needs to be activated to compensate 🤔
Would love to hear your thoughts if you're a cricket fan.
A: The dilemma here is complicated with many different factors especially those around money versus the sport. In the last 30 years we’ve basically developed a new format (T20) and whilst this has brought some benefits and new ways of playing to the old format (red ball), it has also taken from it because it has compromised some of the staple skills required to be top drawer at longer formats: patience, shot selection/ bowling accuracy and subtlety…. Etc.. etc..
Depending on your view, it has either made red ball cricket better or worse.
Only the absolute best test batsman can switch formats effectively (Root, Smith etc..) not many test bowlers have.
Roy is a poor example because he’s in the twighlight of his career. At 32 he’s past his best so taking the dosh in a lucrative, no consequence format is absolutely the right decision for him.
My concern is for the young guns who could become a great red ball cricketer who gets their head turned. Not many will be strong enough to say no to the pot of gold in the T20 promised land. Given a choice between the longer, tougher red ball road and the lucrative, easier road, most will choose the latter.
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Q: When captaining Frankston Peninsula v St Kilda, I won the toss and mumbled to my good mate, Jason Jacoby the Saints skipper, that “you can have a bat …. after us!” … the umpires heard what I said but Jason didn’t which was exactly what I wanted. It was very funny when there’s 4 openers out in the middle at the start of play. The Saints openers had to run off hurriedly as did the rest of the team who were just starting to put their feet up relaxing in their shorts and trackies … that was a pretty good crank!
A: Back in the 80s my first adult captain used to call ‘cherries’!
Whether it was heads or tails he would say great, we’ll have a ….
He got away with it for a few games before the umpires rumbled him 😂
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Q: B3 Cricket - revolutionary cricket bat manufacturer
I’ve worked in the business IT industry all my life and sold a business in 2011. My close friend Russ Evans worked at Gunn and Moore for more than 20 years. He approached me in 2012 to see if I would be interested in helping him launch B3 Cricket and explained the USP’s.
Russ knew I was a cricket badger and wouldn’t be able to resist! The concept was unique; the advanced manufacturing process allows us to give amateur players the same choice and quality as a top pro cricketer. There’s loads of stuff on our website and You Tube channel which shows how we do this, if anyone is interested. Just search B3 Cricket.
We can make a bat from the finest hand-picked English willow to a player’s exact specification and ship it anywhere in the world within a couple of weeks.
In 2014, Russ became a first-class umpire and was living his dream running B3 and umpiring around the UK. Tragically, in 2017, Russ died suddenly after developing problems while undergoing a routine medical procedure.
I like to think we have done Russ proud. I think we are one of the best in the business in terms of choice, quality of products and after sales service. Everyone at B3 is cricket mad, we live and breathe it and hopefully that comes through in what we do.
https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/472/b3-cricket
Michael Blatherwick
last year
question
Q: I’ve witnessed loads of great knocks, and often it’s not the number of runs, it’s the context of the innings.
In 1997 we were playing the last round of league games and we were top of the league, just 2 points ahead of our archrivals, Sandiacre. They had a relatively easy last game, but we had to go to Radcliffe on Trent. A tough track to bat on, made more difficult by the fact their overseas player for that season was Barrington Browne who was in and around the West Indies ODI squad at the time.
It was mid-September and conditions were Autumnal and the pitch was green. We won the toss and contained them to just 176/6 (sorry, 6 for 176) and we went into our innings with the league title in our hands.
Our innings started well but then in poor light, and with Barrington getting a head of steam, we lost 4 quick wickets.
Around this collapse, Sandiacre (who had brushed aside their opposition to gain maximum points) turned up and were very cock sure, thinking we’d blown it.
Enter Neil Fenwick and Brett Scothern in our middle order. They went into a different zone and made a fantastic 100 run partnership in the toughest of conditions against some great bowling. Brett finished on 52 not out and Fenners 55 not out. They pulled, hooked and cut the Windies superstar to all parts!
In the context of the game, what it meant, the quality of the bowling and the challenging conditions – those two share my best innings award. Happy memories!
Michael Blatherwick
last year
answered
Q: Modern day batters play the spinners with the bat in front of the pad where we grew up in the 1980s being taught to play with the bat beside the pad. I’m interested to know when it started to change and why?
A: DRS is the main reason. The old adage, ‘if in doubt, not out’ doesn’t apply anymore. Even in amateur cricket with no DRS , umpires are giving more than they used to. Coaching has therefore evolved to accommodate this and players are playing in front of the pad and also inventing new shots to dominate bowlers such as reverse sweeps and ramp shots. All positive evolution. I bet the great spinners of yester year wish they were playing today!
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Q: What's the best way to know if a cricket bat is the right one for you?
A: Hi Larry
Depends on a multitude of factors: height, strength, standard of cricket you play, the shots you prefer to play etc..
I run B3 Cricket in the UK and Im a level 3 coach. You may find this link useful:
https://b3cricket.com/bat-size-guide
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Let me know if I can assist any further.
Regards
Michael
