10 July 2009

Are tailenders allowed expensive bats?


We've all seen it, and we've probably all ridiculed it. The number 11 walks out with a brand new £300 bat and gets bowled first ball. What a waste of money.....or is it? What I have always wondered is whether it is ever acceptable for a tailender to spend a fortune on a new bat?

Despite the stigma attached to it, about three years ago I decided to take the plunge and buy a top of the range bat. My rationale was that I wasn't good enough to hit the gaps, force the pace, hit out effectively, or any of that, and that a good bat might help me do this. Having never scored a fifty, I thought it was worth a go. After being subjected to a few stifled chuckles as I tried it out in the shop - and even some attempts by the shop assistant to negotiate me down in budget - I indeed plumped for the most expensive in the shop.

It all started slowly, but the bat went like a dream and I was soon picking up some more runs. What I found was that my dots were turned into 1s or 2s, and my 1s into 2s or 4s. This in turn helped me not to worry that I wasn't getting it off the square, because I was, and so I stopped playing silly shots. Over the course of the season I got myself further up the order, batted for longer periods, developed new shots and eventually got my first fifty in the last match of the season. This was all down to the bat via some additional mental strength brought on by confidence.

My point is that despite the ridicule, it is well worth any player investing in a better bat if they want to. Even though my bat broke after one and a half seasons - it scored a LOT more runs than I did - I considered it money well spent.

Why am I raising the point now? Well, as of last Saturday I am now the proud owner of a new bat again, and yes, it is stupidly expensive for my ability. Bring on that first hundred.

5 comments:

Winks said...

Trying to talk yourself up the order already? Can we kept updated on the £/run cost of the bat?

David said...

Having been a spectator at this momentous maiden fifty, I feel I should mention that you scored it against a bowler with only one leg!

Ed said...

Me and Mr McCabe have returned to this debate a few times. His view is to spend more on a bat the lower your ability - mine is the opposite. But like you, I am experimenting and the stats seem to back your argument that a good bat helps you as, touch wood, I'm having my best season since I was 18 in that I average nearly 50 in the league (despite stupidly getting myslef out yesterday with 7 to win) and over 80 in all cricket, having spent £140 (in a sale) on a bat this year.

But I'm still sceptical about spending on bats. My last bat which I bought second hand for £50 went like a dream and this bat doesn't feel any better - perhaps the other bat cost £200+ first hand.....

Incidentally, yesterday was the first time I had comments on my bat, having sanded it down and faced it last week so it looked new again. Slip and keeper kept saying how "I couldn't carry on blocking with a hunk of wood like that" in an attempt to draw a big shot, and even mentioning price! "probably set him back £250 this bat, he's got to get his money's worth" (yes, the chat was that bad!) - that's possibly the worst part of having a new looking bat. Second-hand bats never inspire that rubbish....

Dhiraj said...

I've had the pleasure of buying a new and expensive bat for this season and I can also agree that dot balls do turn into runs.

In fact, on Saturday I scored 8 runs with the edge of my bat, whereas last season I would have been caught by the wicketkeeper... twice.

Ed said...

So edges fly faster with new and expensive bats???!???