Caring and Maintaining Your Bat

Knocking In

Don’t take your brand new bat into a match against a new hard ball the first time you use it. Whatever type of willow it is, the chances are that you will damage the surface and it may split or even break against a new ball. 

When you buy a bat – find out if it is supplied knocked in or pre-knocked in. Most suppliers will knock in a bat for you – for a small charge – it’s a noisy and tiring job. Knocking in means compressing the fibres on the bat to prepare them for use against a hard cricket ball. You do this using a proper knocking in mallet or you can make your own from a bit of wood and a soft old cricket ball.

Knocking in takes a long time to do (around six to ten hours) and a careful approach – best done by an adult and in short sessions! Only knock in the face, don’t strike the bat too hard at first, deflect the mallet off the face edges to round them but never strike the edges directly as this will weaken the bat.

Eventually you can hit the bat as hard as a cricket ball would playing a shot (and that’s quite hard) there are lots of useful resources on the Internet that can help you or you can ask one of the coaches and we’ll show you how it’s done.
After knocking in – use the bat in the nets with an old ball before using it against a new harder ball. If you can see marks from the seam of the ball – it needs more knocking in.

Oiling

You also need to oil your bat before you knock it in. Raw (not boiled) linseed oil should be applied to the exposed areas of the bat. Apply using a soft cloth and only use a small amount. Do not over oil your bat, DO NOT OIL THE SPLICE (the V section where the handle joins the bat). Don’t forget to oil the toe and the back of the bat (as a guide use around a teaspoon of oil for each coat as a maximum).  You can buy special bat oil, but a bottle of raw linseed oil from the DIY store does just as well.
Allow for three coats on the face and allow 24-48 hours to dry between coats – store the bat FLAT between coats and allow air to circulate around the blade (in other words don’t lie it on the floor).

Oiling is only required once or twice a year to prevent the bat from drying out too quickly - do not apply oil to anti scuff sheets, protective finishes or stickers.

Warning – always dispose of rags soaked in linseed oil carefully as these can be a serious fire serious hazard and spontaneously combust. Seal in an air proof container or bag before disposal.

DO NOT OVER OIL YOUR BAT – YOU WILL REDUCE ITS PERFORMANCE AND ITS OVERALL LIFE.

Winter Storage

Winter storage is an important consideration – here’s a list of general dos and don’ts:

• Never store your bat for extended periods in its cover – it will sweat and damage to the bat will result.  This includes leaving it shoved in the side of your kitbag – another no no.
• Don't store the bat in a warm place or place where temperatures can be extreme (e.g. next to a radiator, under your bed, in your wardrobe and never in the boot of a car).
• Don't store your bat vertically (standing up).
• Don't leave the bat in a damp or humid environment.
• A dry ventilated garage makes an ideal storage place (but not if it gets full of condensation from a tumble dryer).
• Store your bat horizontally (allow the air to flow around the blade) if you can.
• Oil your bat lightly before storing for the winter.

Replacing Grips

Eventually – your bat will need a new grip – these can be bought cheaply from most sports retailers or on-line.

Fitting grips is an impossibly difficult job for a novice to get right – even with a gripping cone.  It is always much easier to get a shop (or one of the coaches) to fit it for you as they can be really quite difficult to put on correctly.

Some players like to double grip their bats as this gives a greater cushioning impact when striking the ball or increases the size of the grip.