Matthew Wood of Balanced Sports asked the question… What happened to all the bats?
I still want a Gray-Nicolls Elite 500 Limited Edition. This bat was released in 1990 (or was it 1991?) during the height of my “I will bat no. 4 for Australia” phase and without question would have earned me many more runs than my trusty old County Sportsman. I even got to hold one a few times as I investigated spending $350 1991-dollars on a bat which I was sure would last me the rest of my life, Australian career included. It was perfectly-balanced and not big on embellishments: no double scoops, no Dynadrive printed on the back, and best of all, no Kookaburra logo.
I was, and probably still am, a Gray-Nicolls man. But do you remember the cricket equipment landscape back then? We were positively spoiled for choice with the number of brands we had to choose from. Where did they all go? Stuart Surridge? Symonds? Gunn & Moore? Duncan Fearnley?
So far as I can make out, Australians currently use one of four bat manufacturers: Gray-Nicolls, Kookaburra, Slazenger and Puma, of whom the first three have been around for years. But let’s go back to my halcyon days of cricket and take a peek at what the Aussies used then – I can still recite them off the top of my head: Taylor (GM), Marsh (G-N), Boon (G-N), Border (DF), Jones (Kookaburra), S. Waugh (GM), Healy (Kookaburra), Hughes (County), May (Kookaburra), McDermott (County) and Reid (Never in the middle long enough for me to notice/care). Within that admittedly small sample, there a minimum of five different bat makes, not counting the Symonds that both Waugh and Taylor broke into the side using, the GABBA that McDermott shifted to, nor the Callan that Dean Jones allegedly had re-stickered to look like a Kooka.
To me, this is another sign of how rigid and commercialised Australian cricket has become. The variety of bats any young player was able to pick up at their local cricket club was startling varied – perhaps the best bat I ever used was a late-70′s Wisden blade that I could never find in Nestles’ CC coffin again. That the bat you use – be it Puma or even MRF – is a measure of your endorsements is a shame: after the tearaway, personality-fuelled days of the 1970s and ’80s suddenly the equipment market has become as bland and predictable as the current one-day game. It was indeed a breath of fresh air when late in his career Steve Waugh removed labels from his bats and came out to bat wielding fresh, naked willow.
The answer as to what happened is predictably simple. Some companies, like Impala, failed. Other companies – Duncan Fearnley and Millichamp & Hall chief among them – chose to downscale and focus on local, hand-made equipment amidst the mass of outsourcing & mass production of bat-making to India. County Sports are now Hunt County Sports after being bought out during a takeover. Stuart Surridge has evolved into Surridge Sports and now focuses priority on jerseys for low-tier English football clubs.
I must admit to being surprised on discovering so many of these famous, grand old batmaking companies are still alive and hitting – on starting this article I expected to find the road to our current hell strewn with the fresh or decomposing corpses of failed and taken over artisan companies. Even St. Peter cricket bats still exist, several years on from the immortal image of Tony Greig clad only in all his cricket protective gear saying “When I go home to face the wife, I make sure I’m protected by St. Peter” (I looked hard so as to share this classic image with you but was ultimately unsuccessful. If you know it, you’ll remember it).
Unsurprisingly the almighty dollar is singing it’s simple, sad, boring and ultimately melancholy song again. The most marketable players in Australia earn the biggest dollars from the biggest sponsors, leaving craftsmen licking their wounds. And when I next get around to purchasing a cricket bat, it will probably for lack of choice be a Kookaburra. Just typing that made me shudder involuntarily and I can feel the bile rising. Ever since Packer, cricket has changed unforgivingly into a multi-billion dollar business where market share goes to the big fish and only niche markets are left for the artists. Which only goes to show that everything that guys care about – beer, women and sporting equipment – the best stuff isn’t made and found easily but takes a lot of sampling and groundwork before you happen upon the one best for you.
We’d love to hear your comments on makes of bats which you remember but don’t seem to be around so far. We’ll compile a list and revisit this topic during the Australian summer to find out “Where are they now”? If you can locate pictures of these cricket bats we’ll publish them in the hall of fame…
The Gray Nicolls Scoop 2000 used by Brian Lara…
Michael Atherton’s Gray Nicolls Powerspot…
Graham Gooch SS
David Boon with the Gray Nicolls Ultimate 750 Limited Edition
My old favorite bat was an old GM, 2′ 7″, I never felt such a nice feeling as driving a fast bowler as with that piece of wood, be it on the deck or over his head for 6. I then persisted with a Kookabara Bubble for some time, too heavy by far at 2″ 12′. But if I got it in the middle wholly JEEBUS, Ive seen mid off actually evade waist high drives and I also pulled a spinner through the grill of short legs helmet to beak his nose and hospitalise him, although he still saved 4 runs (Charmic Justice meant that as he was skipper and as was I that I had to injur myself and so dislocated my knee going for a stumping ending my chance to open the batting as skipper for the season, I did bat with a runner at 11 in the second innings). However I recall making 66 in my debut for a new grade team using a grey cick double scoop, after being 3 for 15 we easily made the runs in the end. Their skipper congradulated me, I told him thanks but if I had a decent bat I’d have made 166. SO I went and bought a new Grey Nick Fusion for the princely sum of $500.00. Myt batting avaerage immediately went from mid 20′s to high 30′s and even into the 40′s and top run scorer in one competition (20 20). The bat is a little on the heavey side at 2′ 10′. But the additional weight is nothing compared to the power the modern bats produce. It’s 2 in thick edges mean there is no part of the bat that isn’t near enough to middle. However the trade off if they are now somewhat disposable as the timber is dried soooooo much, And after 3 seasons there is nearly more tape and glue then original timber, Hovever with that in mind it’s still the best bat I have aver used. None of the other modern bats are as powerfull (for weight) as Grey Nichols, but i’d bet they would last a site longer. Your right about MRF’s I remember an u14′s kid at my club swinging and MRF short blade that was 3lb, WAY to heavy. And a disturbing trend of kids using these “new brand” bats which are ok but my biggest issue is the weight of the bat. Sure Tendulka used a 3 pounder for a while, but look what happened his elbows gave out. Bradmans was like 2′ 3″ Border 2 ‘ 7″. I’m about 6 foot and quite stocky and still prefer a bat about 2 ounces lighter then the one I own, but there wasn’t one avaialable when I bought it. I couldn’t swing a heavier bat more then 3 times without popping something. All the kids today want to just smash 6′s with the biggest blade they can get their hands on. I have an 8yo son now and he’s started playing. I found number 6 bats that weigh 2′ 8″ What a joke. I will not let my son carry the heavy blade but make sure he uses skill and timing to score runs not bulk (Like I rely on) untill he’s old enough to swing a large bat.
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dave dunbar Reply:
November 26th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
hello i have a reallyt old bat. it is a V WG slazenger bat and i can not find any photos of it anywhere as i would to know what it is worth roughly
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My favourite memory of a cricket bat is a 9 year old boy waiting by the luggage counter at Delhi airport awaiting the arrival of his newly purchased bat on the travelator. It hadn’t been allowed on the plane as hand luggage and we’re sure the luggage handlers at Delhi played a game with the bat before sending it off to it’s anxious owner.
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Millichamp and Hall were taken over by Puma were they not?
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Classic bats. Gooch’s SS, Atherton’s GN Powerspot, Botham and Hick with their Duncan Fearnleys. There were certainly some iconic blades back in the day.
However batmaking has never flourished in the way that it is now. There are a number of young up and coming podshavers (batmakers) in England. Look at the quality that the likes of SAF, Redback, Hell4Leather, Nixon, Chase et al are producing. In Australia Julian Millichamp is making great bats under the Screaming Cat label, in NZ James Laver has his Laver & Wood brand. There are bats out there for everyone. The proliferation of batmaking in India and Pakistan means bats can be found cheaply, but there are still plenty of artisan companies out there offering handcrafted products to set them apart from the big 5 (GM, GN, Puma, Kookaburra, Slazenger).
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I still have my Gray Nicolls Ultimate 750 Limited Edition with the sports tape positioned at the neck of the bat exactly as David Boon had it.
http://chivalryhouse.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/david-boon.jpg?w=125&h=165
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David Siddall Reply:
October 15th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Can you send us a picture in Jimi?
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Ben – Millichamp & Hall ( england ) still exist making bats in England – and have even made reto remake of their immortal “original”.
Here is what I believe happened…. if I am wrong please forgive but….
Jullian Millichamp sold his stake in the english company and moved out here to Perth at some stage in the early 90′s and created Millichamp and Hall out here – starting with his verison of the Original! It is these bats that many austrlian test players reportedly used with their own sponsors stickers as Millichamp and Hall did not seek to sponsor players. Into the mid-late 90′s Puma bought that out and over time vanquished the M&H-ness of the stickers etc.
Jullian Millichamp still makes bats today under his new company brand Screaming Cat. Apparently very good but I have not used one.
My vote goes to that early 90′s Millichamp and Hall Original LE. At the time, they were $400 plus but they were simply exquisite. Mr Millichamp sure knws how to craft a piece of willow and the mass-produced bats of the big companies today just cannot match the simplistic beauty of handcrafted weapons.
PS – Laver and Wood in NZ also have a very good name.
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Luke Roberts Reply:
October 21st, 2010 at 4:15 pm
llink to M&H in England and their retro bats
http://www.millichampandhall.co.uk/cricket-bats/retro.html
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By far and away the best bat I ever owned was a Duncan Fearnley 405 – perfectly weighted, chunky as hell and steal at $165 when I bought it. I used it for five seasons before I stopped playing and then a mate used it for another five.
I too miss the old bat brands but what I really dislike are the non cricket brands starting to dominate around the world – adidas, reebok and even Nike. If I was to buy a bat today i would like something less mainstream like Ihsan, Newbery, Salix, Bradbury or something hand made.
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I used to have a GN Powerspot Thunderblade Suptertest that i loved dearly. Fantastic bat with a light pickup lasted me 8 seasons.
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A St Peter was my first ever bat in about 1980, when I was 13. I used to have the flat back SP gloves as well.
The SP broke in 1983, and I had a Duncan Fearnley Master after that. It’s still up in the loft somewhere, not having been used since 1985, when I left school and got into golf instead.
Good blog – a nice walk down memory lane.
Oh and England for The Ashes lol.
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My favorite bat is my Kookaburra Super Legend, the model Dean Jones used for years, beautifully balanced bat with a extraordinary sweet spot, still have it and I’m eager to wield it again!
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My first proper bat should have been a magnum by Duncan Fernley, but i ended up walking out the shop with a Gray Nicolls 500? I think it had four scoops out of it, then I had a attack with Ian Botham, stopped playing for a bit caught the bug again had a gunn and Moore diamond and a Newbery Excaliber Symonds tusker; then the best bat I ever had was a Millichamp original I returned one to them cos just a little heavy they said Alec stewart had just returned one would you like that one i said yes,i was working near lillywhites and stewie was signing autographs i asked him to sign the bat he said nice bit of wood i said it was your old one you sent back, he rolled the rubber grip down and there it said AS in the rim of the handle,he laughed and wished me luck,was my best season 734 in 17 games,still got it with about 4 originals one signature 1 mjolnir 2 bradbury stirlings,i now have a sports shop check us out Cook and Matthews Sport based in Chislehurst, South East London
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Very nice post and bats too.
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The rare Grey Nicolls Powerspot Giant Club, the weapon of choice for many middle order, big hitters
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HIKE INTERNATIONAL Avail from us a wonderful range of Cricket Balls, in India cricket is regarded as a religion and cater our best service to its great devotees. We also offer you one of the best balls designed for the suit of day/night matches and training requirements. These are made of superior quality raw material and highly durable. We have Tanned leather and Alum Tanned leather Cricket Balls made in different colors like RED, WHITE, ORANGE, PINK. We also have high quality Yellow Indoor Cricket Ball. We also cater PVC training Cricket Balls as well as Tennis Cricket Ball which is used for Promotion. These are balls having a nice finishing, making them look attractive.
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As we offer you fully fledged range of English willow Cricket Bats and Kashmir Willow cricket bats manufactured by HIKE INTERNATIONAL with very experienced craftsmen. Our bats are highly durable and excellent in performance. These are available in all sizes and weight which are designed as per the suit of players. Our bats are endowed with fine handles which are easy to hold and durable. So if you are a cricket lover or player then you can buy wood cricket bats which will suit to your performance and personality too. In addition, HIKCO, HIKE is one of the most preferable cricket bats manufacturers, suppliers and exporters located in India
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bats are superb,sexy.but there is no mongoose bat.please update it now…………………………………………!
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Certainly nostalgic reading about all the “old” bats out there. I have used many over the years including the GN Scoop, GN Dynadrive, Symonds Super Tusker. Sad to see all modern bats have massive thick edges – supposedly to give better performance. I am now using a County C1000 Kirsten (must be about 8 years old now) weighing in at a grand total of 2lb 7oz! Photo on my website – http://www.tasbats.com.au This bat is fitted with our patented TAS Bat inserts and far outperforms any other bat I have ever used. I regularly hit 6′s that have the opposition shaking their heads in dismay when they see this skinny blade! Our TAS Bat inserts can be retro-fitted to any bat and dramatically enhance the size of the sweet spot and also reduce the jarring and twisting from shots hit off centre. We presented our technology to the MCC Laws Committee for assessment and they have graded it as a “B” meaning it is legal but can only be used in amateur ranks – still well over 95% of the cricketing population! They stated that the bat would have the effect of altering the natural balance between bat and ball and would give batsmen an unfair advantage. We are able to fit a pair of inserts to any bat for the sum of AUD85 (plus postage). Refer to the above website for more information.
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i have 3 bats – mongoose mini
sg nexus plus
puma iranium
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i have 3 bats – mongoose mini
sg nexus plus
a plain bat i bought from kashmir
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The best bat I ever had was the old school Symonds Super Tusker five star. The one with a hump in the middle and a duck bill at the bottom. Inspired by the antics of Greenidge, Waugh and co I proceeded to bat like a snail for two seasons prior to putting it to good use finally when I got strong enough at around the age of 13.
Great article, I remember a couple of other old school classics in the club gearbag as a kid, Grasshopper and Kippax, and what about Crown?
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Great article although a little off the mark when claiming that there are a lack of bat makers around these days. The problem is the rise of the “non bat making sponsor”. The professionals these days all use their own favourite bats, largely from their own favourite bat maker, someone just pays them to put stickers on them.
I recently returned to cricket (right at that age where it is probably not the best idea!) and am loving it so I decided to retire my 10yrs Salix Prestantia (still pings like a bandit!). I went on a hunt for a handmade bat (budget about £200 quid but I would not turn down a bargain or I would pay more if I “felt the love”. After much scouring of the internet I discovered there are dozens of bat makers here in old Blighy to name but a few. Salix, Newbery, M&H, Kippax, Chase, SAF, Solitaire, Dukes, Redback etc etc the list goes on. Soooo in order to narrow down my search I thought I would only buy a bat off a podshaver, location that I had visited. I looked around and narrowed it down to 2. I was out on business and knew I was going to be in Yorkshire so I decided to visit Kippax, and I live in Hampshire so I also decided to go visit Chase (up the road from me). Kippax were amazingly friendly and accomodating, I tried about 5 2lb 10oz bats (one absolute pearly with an incredibly light pick up) before deciding 2lb9oz was a better option and trying another 5 or so of those, these guys use their own clefts and alledgedly quite a few county cricketers use their bats with other stickers on. I was open and up front and told them I would be visiting Chase bats too and I would make a decision within a week.
I then went down to Chase in Hampshire. They could not have been more different. I know their bats are great (our club gets a discount and plenty of league players in Hampshire use them) but tbh the person I saw moaned about how they only sell to the public on Saturday and burbled something about how they did not have much in because they were exporting a lot of bats abroad these days. The decision was made…I want service as well as an awesome bat and I immediately rang Kippax back.
Now the proud owner of a Limited Edition Kippax (£200 including postage from Yorkshire to Hamspshire). The bat has about 12 straight grains and about an inch of heartwood on the outside edge (quite happy with that). It has a couple of pin knots in the striking area but seeing as pin knots and butterfly marks do not affect performance I don’t care, I buy my bats to perform well…not look like white sticks of chalk. The season has started 39, 97, 44, 53. The bat is a beaut! I have hit flat sixes already (flexing the old shoulders) and far more impressively a beautiful four through mid off off a forward defensive! English hand made bat makers are alive and well…you just got to spend a bit of time and effort tracking them down…they no longer have the luxury of putting their stickers on pro bats
As for old school at school boy level my mate had a Duncan Fearnely Micro Light…a beautiful bat back when timing was valued more than pure strength…DFs head bat maker went off and started Solitaire Bats in Worcestershire…so if you are ever in the area I am sure he would hand make a beautiful bat for you….
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David Siddall Reply:
June 14th, 2011 at 9:49 am
Hey Marc,
Thanks for your comment and story. It’s great that you’ve got back into cricket and made those scores already with your new bat. I’m contemplating a comeback too and would be chuffed to pieces with that feat and the flat sixes to boot.
Best of luck for the rest of the season!
David
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Does anyone know the history of
Crown
seem to remember them from the early 80′s.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140563759669&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
I had a V12 from Sportscraft Penrith far oo heavy for a 14yo
Any pics of: Gray Nicolls Volcano, WG County and SP Flat back
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I still have two bats from my boyhood in the early 80′s, a Stuart Surridge and a flat back St Peter that my dad bought for me, taking me to the factory in Wakefield to choose it. All my friends had GN 4 scoops, which were great bats, but the bottom line for me was that Tony Grieg had a St Peter and that kind of trumped everything
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Crown bats were taken over by Raje Sports, based in Dewsbury. Raje still produce bats from the same workshop I believe.
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Hi I am also a lover of the old school bats, have a splendid SS Jumbo, awesome Slaz V12 amongst several others. I have recently come across a wonderful cricket place in Kilsyth Victoria called Saxon Sports. They have the Australian distribution licences for both Surridge and St Peter. Have just purchased a limited edition Retro SS Turbo Graham Gooch 333, awesome bat, and they have the St Peter Master plus a few others. Unfortunately they only have a handful of Surridge bats left as they have decided to not continue with the brand (issues with SS UK). The shop is located in New St Kilsyth, the staff are great, real cricket tragics all.
Cheers
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i have 2 bats sg supercover and rs duke of windsor
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Does any one have some history facts or were to look on a SP ,St Peter, the master,***** bat.
Things like age?
A value?
My is sign by Tony Greig
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Matthew Wood Reply:
January 31st, 2012 at 2:36 am
Glen; if that bat were indeed signed by Tony Greig (in ink, rather than a plastic signature decal) it may be worth something, but as I’m not an expert I couldn’t begin to guess.
The best person to contact is Rick Milne, who values Sporting Memorabilia. You can find him with a Google search.
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I was trying to find out what happened to Stuart Surridge bats when I found this site, very interesting. I have two Stuart Surridge Turbo bats, one a Turbo supreme and the other a Turbo 333 custom made which was a replica of the Graham Gooch bat but weighed 2lb 15oz instead of the full 3lb (I think?). Both lovely bats but the 333 is fantastic, very solid.
As a under 15′s colt I had a full size Stuart Surridge Jumbo bat but couldn’t move it quick enough to stop me getting out! Then I bought a Gunn & Moore Maestro as used by Mike Gatting and then started to score runs, I loved that bat but eventually outgrew it as it was a Harrow size. Then after a few years break, bought the Turbo bats after looking at all other bats available at the time. To me they were far better than the others and I think Graham Gooch agreed too.
What a shame to find out that they no longer make these or any other bats.
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I have a Gunna dn Moore Maestro cricket bat signed by William Gunn. Any idea how old it is and its value?
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Matthew Wood Reply:
January 31st, 2012 at 2:37 am
Donna; if that bat were indeed signed by William Gunn (in ink, rather than a plastic signature decal) I’d find it hard to believe it wasn’t worth a fair bit of coin. But as I’m not an expert I couldn’t begin to guess what the value could be.
The best person to contact is Rick Milne, who values Sporting Memorabilia. You can find him with a Google search.
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Symonds super tusker was the bat i allways wanted as a kid in the 80′s.I’d spend hours in the Whitford city sports store practicing my cuts and hooks.They were so stylish especially the one with no shoulders, but $130 was a fortune to a ten year old in those days.i’ve just found that they’ve also gone out of business,so have just purchased one from Cougar cricket to make my dream(finally)come true,it only took thirty years.
cheers Graeme
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I have a Gray Nicolls Elite 500. I used it for my last year as a schoolboy in 1992. Back then it cost me GBP 100. It was the Robin Smith bat, he was a hero of mine.
I have just started playing again 20 years later…the bat has been usused ever since. It is as good as the day it was bought…better even. Great balance and an explosive middle. A real treasure.
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i own and still use a ss perfect. id like to know the vintage of this bat. was told when using it 1989 it was 25 years old then.
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Great site!
I was searching for the long lost St Peters cricket bat (and flat gloves) used by Tony Greig back in the 70s and ended up here.
In 1975/6 I dreamt about owning a Grey Nicolls! Also loved the Duncan Fearnleys and Gunn & Moores.
Remember John Edrich using County bats.
Am I right in saying Alan Knott was an early Slazenger pioneer?
After many years of not playing I am back on the scene and am not ashamed to say im the proud owner of a Kookaburra (Kahuna Blitz).
Looks just like the one used by “The Mastadon” Ricky Ponting! Thats one endorsement good enough for me!
Keep up the good work.
PS The ortiginal “Duncan Fearnleys” are back in production! Check out their website.
Callum “The Calster”
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I have a skipper gunn & Moore hand made old cricket bat signed in black William gum with the circled R underneath. Any comments on this please and any value?
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Hi guys, as a long term bat junky I would like to discuss just a few of the bats I have owned over the years. Any comments would be welcome
My first “serious” bat was one of the very first Gn scoops, the one Ian Chappell used in 1974 with the deep red/maroon colour. Even to this day I reckon it was the best I have owned. I am so glad we are going to see a new version from GN this year.
I then went to the 4 scoop ( can remember name). Nice bat, no guts
Forgetting the timeline, I have owned the St Peter master ( flatback)..nice bat
Duncan Fearnley was a favotite for a while, with a 5 star poly and also a Magnum.
SS turbo was average fr me
Tried slazenger but didnt like them much
Eventually had two bats made for me by Geoff Hesford in Melbourne…..really fantastic..this guy really knew what he was doing.
have gotten back into playing this year after a 20 plus year retirement and now am using Gunn and Moore.
Next year will be changing to the new GN scoop, I really hope it is as good as the very first one.
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Dan Reply:
April 25th, 2012 at 11:27 am
Glenno,
Do you have any photos of your Geoff Hesford bats? I always wanted one of these as a teenager,
and haven’t seen them around in years
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I have a 1980 Gray Nicholls 4 scoop cricket bat my parents bought for me and I used for one fairly uneventful season. Still in it’s original red sleeve they came in,what are they worth??
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what ever happened to the Duncan Fearnley “Run Reaper”
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