Broken bat single

As many of you lot know, I'm a fan of cricket and all things involving dressing up in white, in the middle of summer and running round on a pitch, chasing after a small, red leather ball while trying to get as dirty as possible.

Practice has been going well this year - I've only had 1 bruise so far in 4 training sessions (that's probably tempting providence though :P) And the 2-hours a week is certainly leaving me with good expectations for the coming year.

I have hit a small problem though - the main tool of my batting arsenal has finally given up the ghost. I was feeling quite good in the nets, batting reasonably well, by my standards, and I was given a chance to really hit one on a pull to my left. The general sound of a good shot is a solid wooden 'thwack', usually accompanied by the bulging of the net and my ego. The net bulged, but me ego didn't, as I heard a decidedly wooden splintering noise... I retrieved the ball and tossed it back, only then consulting my obviously wounded weapon. See the pictures below for the damage.

The split from the front to the back also took with it the armour tape, which probably had kept it together for some time. While I'm quite impressed to be able to break a bat, just by hitting a ball, I'm also dismayed, because the bill for a new bat is going to be quite high. This last one cost me £30 over 3 years previously. For a quality bat, I'm talking somewhere in the region of £50, so that's a $110 bill if you'd like to factor that in across the pond.

How much do quality wooden baseball bats cost these days? I suppose that they should be cheaper, as they don't take so much to make, being all one piece, with maybe a cloth or tape grip. Cricket bats have at least 3 pieces, in the handle, body and grip, with an optional protective coating over the face, which got split on mine.

It had served me well over the past 3 years, though I wish I had served it better, by scoring more runs. In the end, the runs scored was 147 from this fine piece of willow in three years. I know that might not sound like much, but I'm intending to put behind me the problems that were caused by the number of ducks (0s) scored with that bat, when the new one arrives.

Broken bat single

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Cyberdevil 2008-02-19 15:30:03

Woah, that's a lot of money . . . for a bat? How about making your own? Shouldn't be too hard. Anyhow, hope you get it fixed/bought/solved.

Coop 2008-02-19 15:30:03

Should be buying myself a new one on Saturday morning - more info on that one later :)

NEVR 2008-02-19 15:30:10

I've personally never been into Cricket all that much, but I can imagine the dismay at breaking your prized batting tool.

I will pick up on your point about sporting equipment being overpriced, though. I think these days you're paying for the brand more than the item itself, which is why I always try to purchase less well-known brands of equipment, which are often of a similar (if not slightly better) quality than the more commercialised brands.

Still, I hope you do get your new bat soon, and that it serves you as loyally as the old one did.

RIP Coop's cricket bat.

Coop 2008-02-19 15:30:10

I can understand where you're coming from when it comes to something mundane, like a pair or shorts, or whatever. When it comes to a bat, you've got to invest in something decent, because the maufacturers or proper cricket bats develop them to put the weight of the bat where you want it and as a batsman, you need to test the weight of loads before you're totally happy.

I liked this one, because it's light and the majority of the weight is balanced around the middle, edging slightly south. This means it's harder for me to chip it up in the air, which I need to work on, as I keep getting out in silly fashion :P

Sentio 2008-02-19 20:12:06

I haven't played as much cricket as I would like (a brief spell at school for our dismal side- I once top-scored with a massive 2 runs...), but I know your pain from my years of badminton, at school, club and county level.

Back when I was getting to the upper end of what was considered a junior (18 and under) I was playing 5 times a week, and invested in a new racquet to help me in my quest to become a better player. As with you and your cricket bat a hefty investment was required to gain a satisfactory weapon- the grip and weight is essential, as is the feel through the air and the amount of flexibility the frame allows. The object of my desires set me back £80 (some $175 or so for any Americans reading), and that was reduced in a sale from £150!

Now I realise a great deal of craftsmanship goes into a badminton racquet, and the materials used aren't exactly cheap (usually carbon/graphite composites etc.), but that seemed a little steep in my eyes, especially as even cheap racquets can set you back £20 or £30. Factor in the price of restringing it (fortunately done on the cheap as I played with someone with a restringing machine), as all sold racquets (that I have ever come across) have much lower string tension than is needed for matches, and it really adds up.

It lasted two years (with a further restring in-between) before it met its untimely demise under a suitcase in the back of my Dad's car. Fortunately I had pretty much stopped playing by then, but I certainly know your pain.

RIP Coop's cricket bat

Coop 2008-02-19 20:12:06

A nasty way to lose the racquet, I'll agree. My bat suffered a similar incident when I first purchased it - it was on top of the kit and I shut the boot, only to carve a crescent out of the back with one of the 6' x 9' speakers that i had installed in the parcel shelf.

Now I've got a new car, so this problem should not occur with the new bat :)

cornbin 2008-02-23 19:49:59

Us damn Americans don't understand Cricket.

Coop 2008-02-23 19:49:59

I'm not asking you to understand cricket, I'm asking you to understand the principle of the broken piece of wood that I've presented for your viewing.

A broken bat is still a broken bat. Regardless of the sport it's used for, if it's broken, then it certainly is not good news.

Suspended-3rd-Chord 2008-02-27 03:21:19

ahh i miss playing cricket back in jamaica ;_;

yea, well that sucks man...i remember me and my cousin were bored one day, so we found a huge chunk of wood in my grandpas garage, then found his huge saw and cut it up into the shape of cricket bat, haha. it took like 2-3 hours to do, and it was funny because we were only 11-12 at the time. i miss da easy days.

Coop 2008-02-27 03:21:19

I think that's a wonderful story. The closest to something like that happening in my part of the world was when we built goalposts out of various things we could find in the park, like bins, sticks and our own bikes.

Life-Stream 2008-03-15 09:29:29

No offence but i cant stand cricket.

Coop 2008-03-15 09:29:29

Meh, that's your choice