As some of you already know I’ve had cause to acquire a new bat due to a significant crack in my trusty old blade. I chose to dabble in the potentially risky realm of Ebay bat purchases through recommendations from others that had dabbled before me & the potential to pick up a bargain. With the auction won with my bid the only one the bat duly arrived by courier in about a week, along with toe guard, bat tape & cover…plus a very authoritative bat care booklet.

Contained in the booklet are warnings of the pitfalls of bat misuse & mis-preparation which I thought would be wise to share with you all (with all the original spelling & punctuation authentically reproduced):

Cricket Bat blades are made from naturally soft & light fibrous wood. But its cell’s structure is such, can be mechanically pressed under roller, to give a DESIRED HARDNESS. No doubt while in play WILLOW become BRUISED but, do not affect, the performance of the bat. In fact, A CRICKET BAT MAY SUFFER THE SEVERE DAMAGES, UNDER CIRCUMSTANTIAL COMBINATIONS OF THE GAME, AND FOR WHICH MANUFACTURER SHOULD NOT BE BLAMED.

In Case of an AWKWARDLY TAPPED, YORKER on hard ground, when ball strikes the BOTTOM EDGE or TOE of the bat with SUBSTANTIAL FORCE, OR A MISTIME SHOT CROSS HITTED, when ball is knocking hardly with the INNER SIDE EDGE OF THE BAT, CAN CAUSE BREAK DOWN or even IRREPRABLE DAMAGE at any time in the life of a CRICKET BAT. This may Happen even with the first ball too. One can fairly justify if a piece of SOFT FIBROUS WILLOW, a hard leather cricket ball and a hard playing surface come together and the ball is trapped, it is almost certain that the bat is going to be damaged. It is therefore neither reasonable nor justifiable for the player to expect a replacement from the manufacturer. Hence is advisable, preferably the ball should be received at the SWEET SPOT at the centre of the bat, which is resulting in to a THRILLING PERFORMANCE & BUILT A CONFIDENCE IN PLAYER, FOR THE QUALITY IN HIS HAND.

DO’S & DON’TS

DO’S:

Knock in your bat properly for at least 6 hours

Store your bat correctly in an airy place, e.g. garage

oil your bat correctly or not at all. It is difficult to repair an over oiled bat Glue hotes oil

use face tape if you are not confident about oiling

keep the toe lightly oiled to prevent water penetrating

DONT’S:

over oil your bat

use your bat in a match before knocking in

store your bat in your car or near a radiator

pack your bat away wet if it has been played with in wet conditions