From Willow Tree to Cricket Bat – the Journey of a blade.

One of the most enjoyable experiences any cricketer has is the excitement of getting your new bat for the first time. That way the raw willow smellsstraight out of the box, & the feel when you take your first few practise swings is second to none. Every player understands that bats are manufactured but not all a clear on where the making of a bat starts. 

Why Willow?

Cricket bats must be made from wood, as per MCC law 5.3.2, when being used in any form of organised cricket & English Willow or Salix Alba Caerulea has been the material of choice for centuries!Technically a hard wood, its ability to retain a high moisture content, and criss-cross structure gives it the ideal balance between mechanical strength and elasticity, thanks to its high lignin content, to be used as a ‘bat’

English willow is not the only type on the market, Kashmir willow grown in India is another common material. Although it is effectively the same plant, due to the soil and environmental conditions Kashmir willow is more fibrous making blades denser, reducing the elasticity of the fibres leading to a generally inferior 

Blades are grown not built!

To get the best bats, manufacturers will source the highest quality raw materials. Growing willow is quite a technical business & the majority of willow will be sourced from specialist willow growers & a small amount by manufacturers themselves.

The growing conditions mainlyeffect the bat the density of the blade & the visible grain structure.There are two main growing cycles of a tree being early season growth & late season growth. Early season has the best growing conditions, lots of water, plenty of sunlight and in bat terms this is the light colour wood between the thin dark lines. The thin dark lines, what most people refer to as the grain is called late season growth where the tree responds to elevated temperatures and low water availability by creating smaller more denser cells to prevent water loss. 

From Bark to Blade

Once the tree has reached maturity & marked for processing the tree will be felled, cut into logs & eventually takes the more recognisable form known as a cleft where it will be placed in a special room so that the moisture content can be optimised to reduce weight & return peak performance. Before being sent out a cleft is graded base on two basic characteristics, the natural weight of the cleft showing willow density & the grain structure showing potential performance.

Although not an exact science over many years bat makers & players have distinguished those certain aesthetic qualitiesshowingpotential performance, what pressing is required, natural resistance to wear & how long it takes to knock in the bat to get it to peak performance.

Once a cleft has been selected it will crafted & shaped by a bat maker& the handle inserted into the blademaking the splice. Fundamentally fitting the splice is theonly “making” part of the batmanufacturing process. The bat maker finishes the bat off then handle with binding& grip before finally adding their branding & stickers to maker sure that everyone knows who has made such an amazing bat!

I hope that you have enjoyed our guide& if you do need anymore advice, please do email us or get in contact with a member of staff over the phone.

Email: team@srcricket.com