Bat Care

At World Class Willow we advise the following to ensure your bat is maintained in order to prolong its life.

• Store your bat in a dry, cool environment avoiding excessive heat, damp or cold.
• Ensure that your bat has been knocked in properly (see below).
• Avoid unnecessary or aggressive ‘tapping’ of the bat, particularly on hard or excessively wet pitches.
• If your bat becomes unavoidably wet, allow it to dry naturally and seek advice if swelling occurs.
• Only use your cricket bat against balls specifically designed for cricket and avoid use against cheap balls which are often unusually hard and have pronounced seams.
• Avoid facing brand new and cheap balls in the nets.
• The use of a bat cover when not playing will help protect your bat from unnecessary wear and tear.
• The use of a scuff sheet, edge tape and a toe guard are likely to help prolong the life of your bat.

Knocking In

Knocking in is a vital step in preparing your new cricket bat. It helps to prevent cracks and improve the performance and size of the middle.

1. Begin the knocking in process using a hardwood bat mallet, an old ball is acceptable but will not prove as efficient.
2. Start with the face of the bat by hitting the middle just hard enough to create a small indentation.
3. The indentation can be seen by holding the bat up to a light. Continue until all indentations have blended across the face of the bat up to the edges and down to the toe of the blade (please do not knock in the bat above the bottom of the face sticker).
4. To knock in the edges strike them at 45 degrees away from the face of the bat, try and mimic a ball edging off as it would in a game. (DO NOT knock in the sides of the bat as this will damage your bat and void your warranty) Do this just hard enough to make a small indentation and continue until there is a smooth rounded appearance and it blends into the face. Start lightly in 15 minute sessions increasing the force slightly between sessions. We strongly encourage all of our customers to spend at least 8 hours in total to knock in your bat. This will prolong the life of your new bat and increase its performance in the longrun. The areas to focus on are the inside edge and toe of the bat, these are the most common places for damage to a cricket bat.

• Do not use the mallet on the back of the bat.
• Do not hit the edge of the bat at 90 degrees as this is likely to increase the chance of cracking.
• If there are seam indentations or dents in the playing surface, more knocking in is required.