Posted on: 24 January 2014
All bats have different sweet spots, or middles, some are high, some low and some in the middle. What’s best for you depends on a few things – what kind of wicket you usually play on – the lower the bounce, the lower the sweet spot needed. Similarly, if you play on a hard bouncy track, a bat with a higher middle might be more appropriate.
Favoured shots can also play a role. If you are predominantly a front foot player, then a bat with a low to middle sweet spot would work well. If you play off the back foot and like to pull and cut then a higher middle can work better.
Willow Grading
The same as all things in life, you get what you pay for with cricket bats. The better the grade, the better the performance on the whole. Bats are graded for two reasons – cosmetics and performance. It is worth bearing this in mind when you’re checking out a bat. Here at Romida, we encourage our customers to test our bats with a mallet or a ball so you know how good the bats we sell are.
We also often get asked about the grains on a bat – generally it is fair to say that the more grains there are on a bat, the better the performance but durability will be affected. We have some bats which have 20-25 grains on them and they will be great bats but may not last nearly as long as one with 6 wide grains.
The most important thing is to find a bat you are comfortable with and enjoy it. After all, the more comfortable you are with your bat, the better you’ll play and the more you’ll enjoy cricket. That is, after all, why we all play.
