Cricket bats are an essential piece of kit for any cricketer (shocker). If you’re unsure how to care for your new bat, our guide has all the answers you need!
How To Care For Your Cricket Bat.
Cricket bats are the most iconic part of a cricket kit. While proper padding, guards, gloves, and shoes are all just as vital, they just don't have the same status as the classic cricket bat, you know?
A good cricket bat will last a player anywhere from three to four seasons. However, poor maintenance can make even the highest quality cricket bat crack and break in 2, or even just 1. Knowing how you should be caring for it is essential for any player that wants to keep their bat working at its best, and wants to be taken seriously as a cricketer.
So, whether you’re a complete newbie, looking for advice for your first bat, or a seasoned player looking to brush up on some skills. This guide will show you exactly the steps you need to take to care for your cricket bat!
Preparing Your Bat.
Maintaining your bat starts from the moment that you first purchase it, before you even bring it anywhere near a pitch.
Newly-bought cricket bats may have already been pressed and treated, but there are still a few steps that you’ll need to do before taking them out for a game.
Sanding Your Cricket Bat
Before anything else, a cricket bat should be sanded down, to make sure that any rough edges or loose fibres are removed from the surface of your cricket bat.
With this step, you’ll need a fine grade of sandpaper, but any commercial type should do the trick. Simply give your cricket bat a thorough rub, especially across the flat face of the bat.
Once it’s sanded down to your liking and dusted off, you can move on to the next step.
Oiling Your Cricket Bat
Anyone familiar with cricket bat preparation or treatment will know the importance of treating your cricket bat with oil in maintenance. However, it is also important for preparing new bats too, especially if it’s an untreated bat.
When oiling your cricket bat, you need to use either specialised cricket bat oil, or pure linseed oil, to create a smooth finish that properly moisturises the grain of the wood. These should be applied in 2 to 3 layers, with plenty of time to dry between applying each layer.
Be careful when applying your oil, as too many layers can cause as much damage as not putting on enough!
‘Knocking’ Your Cricket Bat
Knocking is a concept that any cricket player or enthusiast will be familiar with, but a newcomer may be somewhat, pardon the pun, stumped by.
‘Knocking’ simply refers to hitting the surface of your cricket bat with a speciality mallet, conditioning the wood to promote better durability and ‘drive’ suitability (hitting the ball across the floor to avoid being caught out).
Freshly-bought bats that aren’t treated with this step are still a little too soft. That softness will absorb a lot of energy that a bowled ball will hit them with, making their strokes less effective, or even crack. Knocking will prepare it for being repeatedly hit with a cricket ball during matches.
This is probably the most energy-intensive part of preparing a bat, as it’s recommended to knock your new bat for around 6 hours. We don’t need to tell you that that’s a long time, especially in one sitting!
However, you will only need to do this once, and will be the final touch you need to prepare your bat for play!
Maintaining Your Bat
So, after preparing your cricket bat, you’ll still need to keep maintaining and looking after it. Thankfully, this is a much less intensive process and doesn’t need to be done often, as long as it's regularly checked.
Checking Your Cricket Bat For Damage
After every cricket match, make sure to check your bat for any new damage that might have appeared. Splinters and small cracks can appear after a bat has been used, even relatively new ones.
In most cases, these smaller cracks and splinters can be fixed by either sanding them down or applying superglue to the affected part of the bat.
Re-Applying Oil
You’ll find that you’ll need to reapply oil to your cricket bat as you continue to use it. As the season progresses, and you continue to use your bat, the oil will likely continue to dry, which can cause cracks to appear.
Repeat the process that we outline in the preparation step, but with just a single coat of linseed or cricket bat oil. Doing this after a season has finished will both build a healthy maintenance routine and keep your bat well-oiled between uses.
Storing Your Cricket Bat
Alongside properly treating it, a cricket bat needs to be kept in a safe and secure location, especially between seasons.
You should avoid putting your cricket bat and its bag in a dry and warm location, where cracks in the wood can dry out and deepen. So avoid putting it in direct sunlight for too long, or in the warmest rooms in your house.
Repairing Your Cricket Bat.
As we’ve already mentioned, small dents, splinters, and cracks can form in your cricket bat, especially after an intense match. If left untreated, these small issues can quickly lead to much bigger and more serious damage, maybe even a complete fracturing of the wood.
We’ve already covered how superglue is a great tool for closing these cracks. This also applies to using cricket bat tape, which can both help close cracks that form, as well as help hold the bat together and prevent cracks from forming.
(We recommend using fibreglass cricket tape, for its improved strength and durability, even while being used.)
However, if the cracks have deepened to the point that it’s affecting your performance, then you’ll need to take your bat to a professional repairman or return it to the manufacturer.
How To Tell When To Replace A Cricket Bat.
It has to happen eventually. No matter how you much you look after and care for your cricket bat, it will eventually be too worn and damaged to use. The signs of an ageing cricket bat will include:
- The cracks that you have previously repaired start to deepen or get worse.The bat has started to swell in places, thanks to moisture damage.The weight or feel of the bat has changed, thanks to accrued moisture or damage.The sound of the ball hitting your bat sounds different or wrong.
Hopefully, you should only start noticing these details after a good few seasons of use. But whenever you do eventually notice them, it’s time to retire the old bat and find a suitable replacement.
Other Tips & Advice
Alongside the other advice we’ve given, here are a few extra tips and tricks for you to keep in mind when looking after your cricket bat.
Keep Away From Water!
It can be tempting to try to wipe away stains from grass or cricket ball leather with water. However, this is something that you should never do. Wood absorbs mixture from water incredibly well, willow wood (the material that cricket bats are made from) especially.
All this will result in is causing moisture swelling on patches of your bat. Sanding/filing the bat down can return it to its original size, but it will have a noticeable negative impact on your bat’s effectiveness.
If you need to clean your cricket bat, we recommend using a nail brush. Or, if you absolutely have to use water, use a warm soapy sponge, and immediately dry after using.
And DO NOT wet the top of the handle where it meets the bat!
Knocking Mallet Alternatives
The most popular method of knocking your cricket bat is with a tailor-made knocking mallet, which may not be an issue if you’re part of a cricket club already.
However, for a newcomer, investing in a knocking mallet can be pretty pricey. With that in mind, here is our budget alternative method of knocking your cricket bat!
You’ll need 2 extra items to do this:
- An old leather cricket ball
- A spare sock
Simply put the cricket ball in the sock, and hit it against your cricket bat face. This will have a similar effect as a mallet, though it may take a little longer to finish (around 7 to 8 hours).
Make sure that you’re doing this with an old leather cricket ball, as newer balls will stain the cricket bat with leather marks.
Final Thoughts
So, there you have it!
Maintaining your bat can be an intimidating task, especially for a newcomer. However, if you’re part of a cricket club, you’ll probably have older or more experienced players that can help you out if you’re unsure about any of the details.
Now, you’re ready to start shooting your shots with your freshly prepared cricket bat!
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