Oops - did it again

Been spending the cash again ...

Confidence is key for most sporting people and I'm no exception. I feel much more confident about taking on the opposition if I have good kit to back me up and cricket is a prime example there. Things like a nice hard ball to bowl with, spikes that let me use the full power of my legs or protective stuff that you know is there but you don't actually feel it getting in the way.

Bats too - for a while (lol - broken by a break of a few seasons) I've felt my bat getting a bit tired. The ball doesn't fly off it as quickly as it did when new. Heh heh heh - Sky commentators haven't helped, they keep talking about modern bats being so much more powerful than the old ones. So I've gotten myself seduced by thoughts of MORE POWER !

So what did I get ?

(size difference is down to the angle of the camera)

From top to bottom there it's : New bat, last bat, old bat. Comparing the middle one to the bottom one really shows up how much the bat protection stuff helps, as the bottom one looks like it should be in a museum. I don't even believe it's that old, although I can't find the bat I had before it. I'd definitely been using the middle one for a couple of years before the Nose Job Game.

Anyway, lots of linseen oil, a bit of light grade sandpaper and rather too much bat repair tape have made the bottom one look a bit aged. The middle one was protected by a plastic armour sheet bonded to it. Clicking on the piccy to view it full size will show tracks of little parallel dots, which is the imprint left by the cricket ball seam when you whack it.


That's the other side, showing who made that first bat ... I took the stickers off originally so I could oil it properly. (Linseed oil keeps bats springy) I seem to be showing loyalty to Slazenger for some reason ... The original intention was to buy one by Gray Nicolls but when I picked up the Slazenger and held it, something whispered "PICK ME !"

And now I've got it home and have run a hand down its face, I have this weird urge to say "smoooooth" in a funny voice.

Weird. And a little disturbing.

Oh - the wooden hammer widget is used for "Knocking In", where you hit your bat repeatedly with the wooden hammer to get revenge on your neighbours (not CK! The other one!) for playing music too loudly. This one also unscrews to leave a cone that's used for adding new rubber grips to the handle. Some people prefer something bigger to get their hands around. I go for two and a half rubbers*.

Ok, who's that raising an eyebrow in the back there ? If you're not careful, we'll tie you up and give you thirty lashes later. Wait ... they'd probably enjoy that. Ho hum - can't win sometimes.

(*the ooold bat got raided for its half a grip, which is why there's a red and black thing going on there)

First game with the new bat is Wednesday (assuming I'm picked!). Hopefully we'll get good conditions for it :-)