Why I don’t believe in bat shapes

Bat shapes are largely marketing.

You’ll often see a professional player using a “Kahuna”, a “Fusion”, or a similarly named cricket bat shape. What most people don’t realise is that many professionals - especially at international level - are not using an off-the-shelf bat at all. They’re using bespoke cricket bats made specifically for them.

High middles, low middles, oval handles, round handles - everything is tailored to the player. Yet they’re endorsing a brand sticker that usually relates to a generic bat shape or profile you’d find in a retail cricket shop. If you compare the same bat model across one store with good stock, or across different stores, towns, countries, or continents, the differences quickly become clear. There will be similarities, of course, but there can also be significant variation. Not just in spine height or edge profile, but in overall thickness and the bat’s actual girth. That size and feel is hugely important to cricketers at all levels in the modern game.

With big brands, what you’re really buying is a mass-produced cricket bat shape. That’s why you’re encouraged to pick it up in person. If you order one of these bats online, it’s largely luck of the draw what actually turns up. That’s the reality of overseas mass production.

Our stock bats, however, are all individually crafted and individually listed. What you see is exactly what you get. The photos on the website are of the exact bat that will arrive at your door. I also include a video with complete honesty about that specific bat - the shape, the pickup, the feel, and most importantly, the ping.

That approach won’t suit everyone, and I accept that. Traditionally, most cricketers have wanted to physically pick up a bat before buying. But with the rise of e-commerce over the last decade, we’ve seen just how effective this approach can be.

It allows players to buy a cricket bat online with confidence, even if they can’t make it into the workshop. It’s also massively improved our global reach, with bats now sold to more or less every cricket-playing nation in the world.

For me, that matters far more than a name printed on a sticker.