How to Knock In a Cricket Bat

Taking a new cricket bat out of the wrapper and resisting the urge to hit balls with it straight away is asking quite a lot. If the blade still needs preparing, though, the first proper session should be with a bat mallet rather than the quickest bowler at your club.

Knocking in a cricket bat gradually compresses the willow across the face and around the vulnerable parts of the blade. Begin gently, build up the force as the surface hardens, then move onto an old cricket ball before you take it into normal nets.

There is no magic number of hours that makes a bat ready. Different manufacturers prepare their bats differently, and two pieces of willow can behave differently as well. Give yourself several hours if the bat is untreated, but keep an eye on the face. If an old ball is still leaving deep seam marks or obvious dents, it needs more work.

What Does Knocking In a Cricket Bat Do?

Willow is a fairly soft timber, even after it has been pressed and shaped into a bat. Knocking in compresses the outer fibres of the blade so they are better prepared for repeated contact with a hard cricket ball.

The face takes most of the work, but the edges and lower blade need attention too. They are the areas that eventually have to deal with yorkers, mistimed shots and the thick edge through third man that gets described slightly differently once everyone is back in the changing room.

Even a well-prepared bat will pick up marks and surface wear over time. It is still willow meeting a hard leather ball at speed. Knocking it in gives the blade a much better start and reduces the chances of early damage.

Does Every New Cricket Bat Need Knocking In?

Check the bat before you reach for the mallet. Some cricket bats arrive largely untreated, while others have already been oiled, protected or partly knocked in at the factory.

Terms such as pre-prepared, pre-knocked and ready to play do not mean exactly the same thing from one manufacturer to another. The care instructions supplied with the bat are more useful than automatically giving every new blade another three or four hours because that is what you have always done.

Junior bats are the same. A junior cricket bat intended for hard-ball cricket may need preparing before use, while a bat intended for soft-ball cricket has a very different job. Check what you have bought before starting.

What Do You Need to Knock In a Cricket Bat?

A proper cricket bat mallet is the easiest option. It gives you much better control over where you are striking the blade and how firmly you are doing it.

An older cricket ball is useful too. The old ball-in-a-sock method still works if you do not have a mallet, although it is harder to be as precise with it. The ball becomes particularly useful later, when you want to find out how the bat reacts to something closer to actual cricket.

You may also need raw linseed oil, specialist bat oil, an anti-scuff facing or other cricket bat care products. What you need depends on how the bat arrived, so have a look at the manufacturer's care instructions before adding anything to the willow.

Should You Oil a Cricket Bat Before Knocking It In?

If you have a natural, uncovered willow face, oiling may be part of the preparation. Many manufacturers recommend a light application of raw linseed oil or specialist cricket bat oil to help stop exposed willow drying out.

Some bats have already been oiled or protected before they reach you, so don't automatically start pouring linseed oil over a new blade. An anti-scuff facing or factory treatment can also change what preparation is needed.

Where oiling is recommended, keep it light and even and follow the instructions for that bat. Avoid the stickers and splice and give the oil time to soak in. A saturated bat is not the aim.

How to Knock In a Cricket Bat Step by Step

1. Find out how much preparation it already has

Look at the manufacturer's care information first. You need to know whether the bat is untreated, partly prepared or intended to be played in rather than fully knocked in again.

2. Begin gently on the face

Hold the bat securely and start tapping across the normal hitting area with the mallet. The first strikes should be controlled. Fresh willow does not need you trying to reproduce a 90mph impact in the first five minutes.

Move around the face rather than spending the whole session hammering the middle. The rest of the blade needs preparing too, however satisfying the middle sounds.

3. Build up the force

As the surface becomes firmer, start hitting it harder. Do it gradually. Going at soft willow too aggressively early on can leave deep dents or damage before the surface has had a chance to compress properly.

There is no special rhythm to master here. Cover the blade, look at what the mallet is doing to the surface and increase the force as the willow allows.

4. Give the edges some attention

The edges need knocking in, but never strike directly into the thin side of the bat at 90 degrees.

Work from the face at roughly a 45-degree angle so the mallet rounds and compresses the edge. You are trying to prepare it for the sort of glancing contact it will receive when a ball takes the edge, rather than flattening the side of the blade.

5. Work down towards the toe

Continue down the lower face and around the shoulders of the toe without hammering directly into the flat bottom of the bat.

The toe already has a hard enough life. Yorkers, tapping at the crease and damp ground can all give it grief over a season, so condition the surrounding willow without trying to drive the mallet straight through it.

6. Leave the back and splice alone

Keep the mallet on the areas of the face that would normally make contact with the ball. Do not knock the back of the blade or the splice where the handle enters the bat.

7. Bring in an old cricket ball

Once the face has had plenty of mallet work, use an older cricket ball for the next check.

Start with controlled taps or gentle throwdowns and keep looking at the face. Light impressions are part of using willow. Deep seam marks or obvious dents mean the bat is telling you it needs more preparation.

8. Ease it into the nets

The next step can be a proper cricket net, just not straight against a shiny new ball and your quickest seamer.

Use older balls, play controlled shots and build the pace up over a few sessions. If the seam starts leaving deep marks, get the mallet back out before going any further.

How Hard Should You Hit a Cricket Bat When Knocking It In?

The early knocks should be relatively gentle. From there you can work up to firm mallet strikes as the face becomes harder and stops taking obvious dents so easily.

Hitting too hard too early is one of the easiest ways to make a mess of a new blade. You do eventually want to prepare it for the impact of a hard ball, but you get there progressively.

If the face starts chipping, flaking, cracking or taking unusually deep dents, stop. Check your technique, check the preparation instructions and make sure the willow is not being asked to take more force than it is ready for.

How Long Does It Take to Knock In a Cricket Bat?

Several hours is a sensible expectation for many untreated cricket bats, but there is no honest single-hour answer that applies to every blade.

Manufacturer recommendations vary quite a bit. Some bats need a long period of hand preparation. Others have already had substantial work done at the factory and mainly need careful playing-in with an older ball. Even within those groups, willow is a natural material and one blade may take longer to settle than another.

Spread the work over shorter sessions rather than trying to finish everything in one heroic evening. The number of hours is useful for planning your time, but the condition of the face should decide when you move onto the next stage.

How Do You Know When a Cricket Bat Is Knocked In?

Once you think the mallet work is done, test the bat with an older, good-quality cricket ball. This tells you far more about its readiness than simply reaching the end of a timer.

Don't expect the face to stay immaculate. Willow marks. What you are watching for is pronounced denting, deep seam impressions or fresh damage appearing as soon as the ball starts hitting the blade with a bit more force.

Can You Knock In a Cricket Bat With a Cricket Ball?

Yes. An old leather cricket ball has been used for knocking in bats for generations, with the ball-in-a-sock method probably responsible for a fair bit of noise around cricketing households.

A hardwood mallet is easier to control for the main part of the job, though. You can cover the face and edges more accurately and build the force much more deliberately.

The old ball really earns its keep towards the end of the process, when you move from mallet work into taps, throwdowns and controlled nets. Leave the new ball in the bag for now. Its harder, more pronounced seam is exactly what you are preparing the face to cope with.

Do Pre-Knocked Cricket Bats Still Need Knocking In?

They can, depending on the brand and the preparation already carried out.

This is where reading the label actually helps. Gray-Nicolls advises additional knocking-in for some of its pre-prepared bats. Kookaburra's KPP process reduces the preparation already needed but its current guidance still calls for further knocking in. Gunn & Moore's GM NOW! treatment is different again, with the bat already knocked in and the early work focused on playing it in carefully with old balls.

So if you have bought a pre-prepared bat, use the instructions for that bat rather than somebody else's stopwatch.

Is Chipping or Marking Normal When Knocking In a Cricket Bat?

Light mallet marks and shallow indentations can appear while the face is being conditioned. If you start seeing proper chipping, flaking, deep dents or cracking, stop and have a closer look.

Too much force too early is one possible cause. A dry, untreated blade may also need the preparation recommended by its manufacturer before you carry on.

Don't keep belting it in the hope that the damage will somehow improve. If a new bat is showing significant cracking or the surface is breaking up, take a few photos and speak to the retailer or manufacturer before doing more work.

Common Cricket Bat Knocking-In Mistakes

• Going too hard too early on fresh willow.
• Spending all your time on the middle and barely touching the rest of the face.
• Hitting directly into the side of the edge.
• Hammering square into the bottom of the toe.
• Knocking the back of the blade or the splice.
• Deciding the bat must be ready because a certain number of hours have passed.
• Taking it straight into quick nets with a new ball.
• Oiling it without checking how the bat was treated before you bought it.

From Mallet to Match

By the end of the process, the bat should start seeing more cricket and less mallet.

Use an old ball for taps and throwdowns, then take it into the nets and play fairly straight to begin with. An older ball and a bit of common sense are useful here. If the seam is still digging deeply into the face, the fact that you have already booked the net for an hour does not make the bat ready.

As the bat handles those impacts cleanly, build towards quicker bowling, harder balls and normal match preparation. That first new-ball net will still be more enjoyable knowing you haven't taken the bat straight from its wrapper to the firing line.

If you're still choosing the blade that will be getting all this attention, browse our adult cricket bats and kids' cricket bats. If size is still part of the decision, our cricket bat size guide will get you sorted before any mallets come out.