As willow is a natural product, which is grown rather than made, grading is a key factor in the pricing of bats. As a consumer many think that it is the manufacturers which grade the bats, this is true to an extent however, the basis of all bat grading starts off with the producers of the raw materials. When a tree is felled a cut into clefts, the producers will look at key aesthetic characteristics guided by centuries of experience.

Put simply the cleaner are more uniform a blade looks the more likely the cleft will make the highest grade. Now there is no guarantee these high-grade bats will perform the best however, over centuries of experience they are the most likely to return the best performance, player preparation & care permitting.

On top of the natural weight of the cleft, as players want bigger bats that weigh less, the key aesthetic qualities at source will be grain clarity &uniformity, continuation of grain from face to back, the presence or absence of blemishes such as butterfly marks, knots & stains which are al part of growing willow. The presence of these imperfections or blemishes do not guarantee poorer performance but as they are more available, not very attractive & experience dictates they don’t perform as well as cleaner looking bats they have a lower grading.

Grade 1 blades are the rarest & in highest demand. Almost perfectly clean, a minimum of 6 grains, which are straight & very evenly spaced face. It is normal to have less than an inch of heartwood on one edge.

Grade 2 will have a similar quality of grain but with the odd blemish on the face but not in the hitting area & more heartwood.Still in high demand but more available.

Grade 3 offers the best in value for money & is widely available, as nature is not perfect.You can expect 5 grains minimum, that are wavy & not evenly spaced, up to 50% heartwood with blemishes anywhere on the face.

Grade 4 is used in the lower ranges of bats having a minimum of 4 grains, possibly more than 50% coverage of heartwood with blemishes or a notable butterfly stain. Again, this grade is very common & due to the severe shortage of quality willow some bat makers have made these bats a core part of their range.

Proof of the pudding?

The clefts have been graded sold & delivered to the manufacturer, to begin their lives as cricket bats. It is here that the grading system becomes more relevant to players.

Across the industry manufacturers do not hold themselves to solely cosmetic characteristics when grading their bats & as such do not hold themselves to any particular standard or grading system.

As with the producers’ manufacturers centuries of knowledge when it comes to knowing what willow makes awesome bats, but they work closely with the players & prepare the bats for sale so have moved the grading system to include performance after pressing.

Many keen cricketers will spot that Grade 1 willow is used across many price bands from £250 -£700+. This is driven by the master bat makers & their knowledge of all the characteristics, performance & market availability which impact a bat’s financial worth. The master bat maker will be able to split up Grade 1 into 3 further categories considering visual perfection, natural weight of the cleft & performance after pressing.

Pressing is a key part of the bat making process & every bat will have its own pressing requirement to get it ready for the customer, who should then finish its preparation before full match use. When pressing a bat the master bat maker will test the rebound performance, much like a batter will when they get their bat for the first time. Once the bat has got to it’s best in their eyes, the master bat maker puts it the appropriate category for finishing & sending off to the retailers & customers.