How to Buy a Discount Cricket Bat Online Guide

Online shops like eBay and Overstock are great places to find cricket bats at discounted prices. Luckily, here at T20 Shop we take the effort out of it by sorting lists of results for cricket bats to show you how easy it is.

Cricket Bat Life

Email the seller to ask how long they have been using the bat. A couple of seasons? Is it your nets bat? Once you can establish from the buyer or the photos the age of the bat you can then decide if it ‘bat life’ is worthy of buying it. Over 3 seasons and forget it – the bat is deteriorating from the amount of bowls it has faced. Look for guys who buy a bat, tonk around with it for a few times then realise it is not suitable for them. They can’t take back to the shop because they have red kiss marks on it – so they sell it, online.

Fake Cricket Bats

Watch out for fake Kookaburra bats. A genuine 1st Grade English Willow bat is worth more than $30. For buyers external to India – there seems to be a fake Indian cricket bat ebay scheme going on. Beware of dodgy wood with fake Gray-Nicholls or Kookaburra stickers on them. ‘Genuine Willow’ is pricey. You get what you pay for. Also – to get wooden products out of India it may have to be fumigated by customs. Plus look into import taxes, high postage rates and compulsory insurance.

Know Your Willow

Kashmir or English willow? Kashmir is cheaper but heavier and has a shorter cricket Bat Life. The more expensive and professional cricket bat is one made of willow. Keep in mind, the quality of the wood is graded with 1 being the best.

Know Your Price Before Bargain Hunting

We can all get caught up in the rush to purchase things. Buying a cricket bat is no different! Want a decent bat? Pay between $150 and $300.

Cricket Bat Size and Weight

Use real world bats to get feel for it. Try out your friends bat or go to your local sporting store and find out what ‘feels’ right for you. Think of size and weight.

If the seller does not specify size and weight STOP, ask them via email. If they want the sale they will be happy to keep the customer happy!

Use the sizing table below to find out your approximate bat size.

Cricket Bat Size Table

Bat Size	Batsman's height
1	Up to 4 ft 3in	Up 1.3m
2	4ft 3in to 4ft 6in	1.3m to 1.37m
3	4ft 6in to 4ft 9in	1.37m to 1.43m
4	4ft 9in to 5ft	1.43m to 1.5m
5	5ft to 5ft 3in	1.5m to 1.57m
6	5ft 3in to 5ft 6in	1.57m to 1.63m
Harrow	5ft 6in to 5ft 8in	1.63m to 1.65m
Small Mens (SM)	5ft 8in to 6ft	1.65m to 1.82m
Full Size	6ft +	1.82m and greater

Note: Bats in number sizes are usually for kids. The number 1 corresponds to Year 1 of school. The number 4 is for Year 4 of school. As they are for kids they will probably be made of Kashmir.

Weight

Your cricket bat weight is dependant on your style and body type. A super strong player who slogs sixes like Andrew Symonds would have a heavier, thick edged, wide middle bat. If you work the ball into gaps for 1’s and 2’s tend to use lighter cricket bats. It is up to you and what you feel comfortable with. Try having a hit at the nets with your friends bat to see what suits you.

For Children in schooling years of 7 – 10 it is recommended that the bat is 2lb 4ozto 2lb 7oz (Medium) in weight. Why’s this? If the kids bad is too heavy they may get lugged down with a punishing bat. Some batsmen can generate the same amount of force with the power of their wrists and their swing speed. Carrying around a tree trunk is not helpful for their cricketing careers. Try a friends bat – see how the kid hits.

Use the table below to find out the category of your desired bat weight.

Cricket Bat Weight Table

Category	Bats weight
Very Light	Up to 2lb 3oz	Up to .9 kg
Light	2lb 3oz to 2lb 6oz	0.9kg to 1.07kg
Medium	2lb 6oz to 2lb 10oz	1.07kg to 1.19kg
Medium-Heavy	2lb 10oz to 2lb 12oz	1.19kg to 1.27kg
Heavy	2lb 13oz to 2lb 15oz	1.27kg to 1.36g
Very Heavy	1.36lb +	1.36kg +

Timing is Everything

Try not to buy a bat at the start of the cricket season. Why? Because everyone else is in the market for a new bat.

Buy From a Certified Seller on eBay

Check the eBay sellers sale history. Make sure they have a respectable amount of cricket gear on offer along with a substantial number of satisfied customers.

Is this the Photo of the Bat You Are Selling to Me?

Some sellers out there seem to be naive to the fact that when a buyer see an item he thinks he is buying the item! Ask them if the photo they provided is what you will get. Again, this should be okay as they have a number of satisfied customers and a long list of cricket equipment on sale.

Ask if it is In Stock!

Drop the seller a questions on the expected time of delivery. They may be a drop-shipper who sells what they do not have in stock to save on storage room. Ask them when you get it. Simple.

Know Your Cricket Bat Brands

• Gray-Nicolls
• Kookaburra
• Sommers

Andrew Symonds with a Thick Gray Nicolls Bat

Do you know which brand this is?

Take Your Time

Tree plantations feed the cricket bat industry... and the furniture industry... and the housing industry... all over the world. Cricket, especially Twenty20 cricket, is a format of the game anyone can quickly adopt as their favourite sports game and is exploding in popularity internationally. Therefore, cricket bats will be around for many years to come. They are not running out anytime soon, they are not a finite resource! Be patient, hunt through the eBay listings and get a quality deal at the right price.

At T20SHOP we have prepared searches already made for you to find your bargain. Click on the links you find would help you in purchasing your dream bat online!

• Ricky Ponting Kookaburra Kahuna Cricket Bats

• Cheap Cricket Bats in United Kingdom

• Quality Cricket Bats in Australia

• Cheap Cricket Bats in India

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