Cricket Supplies

I'm looking to get back into playing cricket after not doing it for 10 years (when I was 16!) and so I obviously need to stock myself up with some equipment once I have found a place to play. Can anyone recommend a good reliable place to start having a look? I'm not looking for anything top of the range, just good value for money (especially for a bat) and I don't really know where to start, for example I've seen various size charts that say SH bats are for either over 5'6" or over 5'9" people and seeing that I'm 5'8" this is slightly confusing!

Anyway, I know that many of you play cricket for various clubs so if anyone could help me out that would be excellent

Look on Ebay obviously if you what a second-hand equipment. Also the big supermarket stores like Tesco Extra and Sainsbury's big stores now stock cricket equipment at prices which are below that of normal high street specialist sports retailers. If you want to a cheap helmet and grill device for protection, then look at getting a cheap 1977 era motorcycle crash helmet and adapt it into a cricket one by also adding a plastic visor.

I haven't seen it but Tesco and Sainsbury's stocking decent cricket equipment? I'm sceptical to say the least. I'd expect to pay £150 for a bat at least for it to hold up.

I'd say you'd be fine for a SH if you're 5'8 i'm 5'10 and i've used one since I was 16 or so.

You could try these people.

http://www.barringtonsports.com/cricket

gboycottnut wrote:Look on Ebay obviously if you what a second-hand equipment. Also the big supermarket stores like Tesco Extra and Sainsbury's big stores now stock cricket equipment at prices which are below that of normal high street specialist sports retailers. If you want to a cheap helmet and grill device for protection, then look at getting a cheap 1977 era motorcycle crash helmet and adapt it into a cricket one by also adding a plastic visor.

You can tape telephone directories to your shins instead of buying pads if you're really strapped for cash.

Galted wrote:

gboycottnut wrote:Look on Ebay obviously if you what a second-hand equipment. Also the big supermarket stores like Tesco Extra and Sainsbury's big stores now stock cricket equipment at prices which are below that of normal high street specialist sports retailers. If you want to a cheap helmet and grill device for protection, then look at getting a cheap 1977 era motorcycle crash helmet and adapt it into a cricket one by also adding a plastic visor.

You can tape telephone directories to your shins instead of buying pads if you're really strapped for cash.

Also make batting gloves by sticking layers of cardboard to a normal pair of PVC gloves.

gboycottnut wrote:

Galted wrote:

gboycottnut wrote:Look on Ebay obviously if you what a second-hand equipment. Also the big supermarket stores like Tesco Extra and Sainsbury's big stores now stock cricket equipment at prices which are below that of normal high street specialist sports retailers. If you want to a cheap helmet and grill device for protection, then look at getting a cheap 1977 era motorcycle crash helmet and adapt it into a cricket one by also adding a plastic visor.

You can tape telephone directories to your shins instead of buying pads if you're really strapped for cash.

Also make batting gloves by sticking layers of cardboard to a normal pair of PVC gloves.

& save on a box by stuffing your dangly bits between your legs a la Silence of the Lambs.

Carrot - Arun ''the Baron'' Harinath had his bats nicked at the Guildford Festival a couple of years ago! I know you won't be thinking along those lines!

Assuming you find a club in time, suggest you get along to their pre-season nets (that'll score you Brownie points to start with) and try out a few bats there before actually buying one

To score more Brownie points, make sure you buy your cricket sweater from your new club.

Above all else, ignore all suggestions from Boycs and Galted!

Carrot - notwithstanding Guildford's cautionary advice above, you could do worse than look at Patsy Hendren's original three peaked helmet - I doubt that invention has been bettered....

Maybe someone is getting rid of an old suit of armour which would kinda cover everything at once?

Hi Cd,

I have some generic advice to offer.

The first thing to ask is whether you actually need all your own kit. Cricket kit is unfortunately expensive (more on that later), but most clubs have a collection of (usually old and worn) kit which can be borrowed. Barring that, you can probably borrow off your fellow players at least for a while.

You will want your own bat as it is a very personnal thing which bat is best for you. Gloves also, it's horrible to wear old tatty gloves (usually providing inadequate protection). Shoes obviously. And a box. For pads, thigh guards and helmets if your club is well stocked these can wait.

Prices: unfortunately I think in general you do get what you pay for, with some exceptions. One suggestion I usually give is to purchase in the off-season or even better right at the end of the season when there are often bargains to be had as shops try to shift last year's kit, but unfortunately this is a double-edged sword in that the kit which wasn't shifted occasionally just isn't very good. In any case this is irrelevant now, all shops will have their new kit in and want to flog it at high prices. But honestly nowadays you're unlikely to get much resembling a decent bat for less than £150, and decent gloves will set you back £50, shoes £60-80.

Bats: in my experience the most common mistake made is for people to choose a bat too heavy for them, thinking that this will enable them to hit the ball harder. Pro players use heavy bats, but
- they are heavily pressed so wouldn't feel their weight
- the top players are fantastic athletes who can pick up far more weight than your average cricketer, and your growing one in particular.

Also, a heavy bat isn't the only way to send the ball further, bat-speed is another key component, and of course this is far more easily achieved with a lighter bat.

As a guideline, if you can't comfortably play a drive all the way through (backlift to follow through) using only your top hand then the bat is too heavy.

The only way to choose a bat is to go to a shop, and try out all the models in your price range. This means picking the bat up, and playing a few mock shots with it. The right bat will feel right, there is no other way to describe it. Everyone has their favourite make, because all the brands make bats with subtly different feels. I tend to find GM and Kookabara to be reliable but on the expensive side; Slazenger vary, you can get some really nice bats but also some rubbish; not a fan of Puma/Woodworm, I think their commercial bats are a bit dodgy; Gray-Nicholls make good bats but not my personnal preference. Slightly lesser known brands like County, Salix, Newberry make some high class bats but usually expensive.

Once you have purchased a bat, you need to knock it in. I'd do 45mins to an hour a day for 5 days. Then use on old-balls, then in nets, then in a match. If you don't have a bat hammer for the knocking in, use an old ball wrapped in a sock, this works just as well (if slightly more cumbersome). Don't forget to knock in the edges, or the bat will crack the first time you mistime a ball... Bats advertised as "pre-knocked in" are usually more expensive, and still need an hour or so of knocking in.

Gloves: almost as important as the bat, they have to feel comfortable whilst affording suitable protection for your level. Again, avoid gloves which feel rigid or heavy. Don't be stingy on the gloves, unlike the pros you can't change them every other over.

Shoes: must feel comfortable. I still think Aasics are ahead of the game regarding cricket shoes. Buy shoes which can take both metal spikes and rubber ones, in case you play on synthetic or a very dry pitch. Also, you can then use them for generic running. The shoes need to afford protection but also be breathable. If you are a fast bowler, buy a pair of shoes a size or two too big, this will avoid bruising on your front toe. I have heard some coaches suggest fast bowlers shouldn't have spikes on the heel part of their front foot. Personally I think this is nonsense.

Pads, helmets, etc: you need to be able to feel comfortable in them. I have yet to find any which don't offer enough protection for the level I play at (at my best, decent premiership side). For pads you need to be able to run without obstruction. As I say, if costs are an issue, then I wouldn't necessarily buy my own pads for now.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the very thorough response, Mike. I'm planning on going along to the nets sessions for the club I have found and taking it from there in terms of equipment, there will be stuff I can borrow and in terms of bats I'll be able to see what feels right/wrong. I think with most of it I'll see what the guys say when I head along for the nets, how many games there are, the kind of pitches and the sort of level they are at. I'm assuming that it is quite low level cricket as that's what I'm looking for as I don't think Im very good but it's been too long for me to genuinely know my skill level - I'm also not worried about the shoe size thing as I'm definitely not a fast bowler!

The bit you've mentioned about the gloves is interesting and I will take that on board, I hadn't considered the importance of these. What about inner gloves by the way? Yay or nay?

Depends on whether you sweat a lot. I don't personally wear them because I think it somewhat dilutes the grip I can get, but I know (very good) players who swear that without them their hands become too slippery. They're fairly cheap in the scheme of things, so worth experimenting with.

Thanks again. Just a quick one about bats - what is it exactly you lose with the cheaper ones, is it to do with how easy it is to time the ball or how far you an hit it or do they just break easily? And if they are no good under £150 or so how come they still get sold/people still buy them?

Carrotdude wrote:Thanks again. Just a quick one about bats - what is it exactly you lose with the cheaper ones, is it to do with how easy it is to time the ball or how far you an hit it or do they just break easily? And if they are no good under £150 or so how come they still get sold/people still buy them?

I think it is to do with the bat surface quickly and easily losing its shine/material perfection which means that marks from the ball get left behind when the bat strikes the ball.

Carrotdude wrote:Thanks again. Just a quick one about bats - what is it exactly you lose with the cheaper ones, is it to do with how easy it is to time the ball or how far you an hit it or do they just break easily? And if they are no good under £150 or so how come they still get sold/people still buy them?

The answer is really all of the above. To oversimplify massively, cheaper bats won't have been pressed as much or as carefully. They feel heavier than better bats of the same weight, and are less easy to pick up and manipulate. They will also usually have a less pronounced "sweet spot", and the toe and splice could be essentially hopeless. They often (but not always) break more easily (it is IMO a myth that pro bats break more easily, they break after a shorter period of time, but the pros use them so much more often than we do, with much more power; stick a £50 bat in the hands of someone like Gayle and I don't give it 2 overs before it snaps in 2).

This is not to say all bats under £150 are rubbish - some can have good attributes, you occasionally get a good pick-up with a cheap bat, etc. I had an £80 (probably £120ish at today's prices) which I was very happy with for a few years (Slazenger as it happens). As to why people buy them, a mixture of ignorance, lack of choice, marketing (it is mainly the big brands who sell cheap bats), etc. Why do people buy Sainsbury's basics tomatoes? For some people they do what they want I guess.

Yes that all makes sense I suppose! I think my best bet is to see what I think of other people's bats, find ones that feel good in a shop and check out reviews etc. of ones I fancy to try and find the best one I can afford.