The Complete Cricket Bat Buying Guide
The Complete Cricket Bat Buying Guide
Most cricket bat mistakes happen before anyone starts worrying about grains or willow grade. The bat is too big, too heavy, or simply doesn't come through the shot comfortably.
Our rule at Pro:Direct Cricket is pretty simple: size first, pickup second, everything else after. Get those two right and choosing a cricket bat becomes much easier. Then you can think about profile, willow, handle shape, price and, yes, which stickers you actually want looking back at you in the middle.
What Size Cricket Bat Do I Need?
Start with height. Age is useful for junior cricket bats, but it is only a rough guide. Two players in the same school year can be completely different heights, so measure the player rather than guessing from their birthday.
| Bat Size | Player Height | Approx. Age |
|---|---|---|
| Size 0 | Below 122cm | 3-4 |
| Size 1 | 122-129cm | 4-5 |
| Size 2 | 130-136cm | 6-7 |
| Size 3 | 137-144cm | 8-9 |
| Size 4 | 145-151cm | 9-10 |
| Size 5 | 152-159cm | 10-11 |
| Size 6 | 160-164cm | 11-12 |
| Harrow | 165-169cm | 12-14 |
| Small Adult | 170-174cm | Teen / Adult |
| Short Handle | 175-182cm | Adult |
| Long Blade / Long Handle | 183cm+ | Adult |
Bat sizing varies slightly between brands, especially around Small Adult, Academy and Long Blade options, so use the chart to get into the right area rather than treating it like an umpire's decision.
Once you've found your likely size, get into your stance and move the bat around. You should be able to lift it cleanly, bring it down straight and change the path of the bat without the blade taking over.
For juniors, we wouldn't buy a size up purely to get another season out of it. Extra length usually means extra weight too, and spending Saturday mornings dragging an oversized bat through the ball isn't much of a saving. Buy for the player standing in front of you now. Browse our kids' cricket bats once you know the size you need.
For most adults, Short Handle cricket bats are the starting point. Long Handle or Long Blade can work for taller players, but height alone doesn't make them compulsory. If Short Handle gives you enough reach and feels better through the swing, stick with it.
Forget The Sticker Weight For A Second
Cricketers can get very attached to a number. "I only use 2lb 9oz" sounds reassuringly precise, until you pick up three bats at 2lb 9oz and they all feel different.
That's pickup. It is how the weight of the bat actually feels in your hands. One bat might carry more wood towards the toe and feel quite heavy through the swing. Another can weigh exactly the same but feel much easier to lift because the mass sits closer to your hands.
As a rough guide, 2lb 6oz to 2lb 8oz sits towards the lighter end, 2lb 9oz to 2lb 11oz covers a lot of adult bats, and anything above that begins to feel more substantial. Use those numbers to narrow the choice, not make it for you.
More bat behind the ball can be useful if you have the strength and bat speed to move it. If the extra weight leaves you late on the ball or starts pulling your shape apart after half an hour in the nets, you've gone too far.
We'd take the bat that still feels good when the hands are tired, not the one that feels impressive for the first five shadow drives.
Where Do You Want The Wood?
This is where cricket bat profiles start making sense. Look at a bat side-on and you'll see that the wood isn't spread evenly from shoulder to toe. The fuller part of the blade, often called the middle or sweet spot, can sit low, centrally or higher up.
A mid middle is the easiest place to start if you want a balanced bat for all-round stroke play. A lower middle puts more wood towards the bottom of the blade and can make sense on slower, lower wickets where you regularly meet the ball further down. A higher middle shifts that hitting area upwards, which can work well on quicker surfaces where contact naturally happens higher on the blade.
We wouldn't get too hung up on labels like "front-foot bat" and "back-foot bat". Unless the innings has gone badly wrong, you're going to need both. Think more about the pitches you play on and where you tend to find the middle.
The back of the bat matters too. A fuller profile keeps more wood across the blade. Concaving or scalloping takes some away either side of the spine to help control weight and pickup. Big edges and towering spines look great in a product shot, but there is no bonus run for owning the chunkiest bat in the changing room.
How it comes through is more important than how large it looks.
English Willow or Kashmir Willow?
English willow is the main choice for regular match cricket and the material you'll see through the higher end of most ranges. It is generally lighter and more responsive than Kashmir willow, with different grades determining where a bat sits on price.
Kashmir willow is denser and usually more affordable. That makes it a perfectly sensible option for beginners, casual players, training and juniors who may be one growth spurt away from needing another bat anyway.
Then there is grading. Higher-grade English willow normally has a cleaner face, straighter-looking grains and fewer visible blemishes. Lower grades can show more staining, red wood or marks.
That affects price, but don't confuse cosmetic perfection with guaranteed performance. Willow grew on a tree before it ended up in your kit bag. It is allowed to have the odd mark.
Grain count gets overthought for the same reason. Lots of narrow grains can look lovely, but more grains do not automatically make a better cricket bat. If one bat has the showroom face and another has the pickup you love, we're taking the pickup.
How Much Should I Spend On A Cricket Bat?
This depends on how much cricket you're playing and what you're expecting from the bat.
For beginners, juniors and occasional players, cricket bats under £150 can make plenty of sense. Getting the size and weight right will do far more for you than spending heavily on a grade of willow you don't need yet.
Move into the middle of the market and you'll find more English willow, more profile options and plenty of bats suited to regular club cricket. If that's where you sit, browse cricket bats from £150 to £300.
Higher up the range, more of your money goes into willow selection, grading and cleaner cosmetics. For a player who knows exactly what they like, that can be worth paying for. For everyone else, don't assume the most expensive blade on the rack will be the one you bat best with.
If the cheaper bat feels better, you've got money left for batting gloves. Nobody has ever complained about that.
Handle Shape, Grip And The Bits You Notice Later
Once size, pickup and profile are sorted, the smaller details start to matter.
Oval handles tend to feel more defined and stable in the hands, especially when you're hitting straight. Round handles allow a little more freedom to rotate the bat, which can appeal to players who use their wrists more. Semi-oval sits somewhere in between.
Grip thickness changes the feel again and is easy enough to alter with a new cricket bat grip. If you're buying your first proper bat, we wouldn't let handle shape derail the decision. Play enough cricket and you'll soon develop very specific opinions about things nobody else in your family cares about.
Does Cricket Bat Brand Matter?
Yes, but probably later in the decision than you think.
Different brands have their own approaches to shaping, profiles, handles and grading, and once you've found something you like there is nothing wrong with sticking close to it. Our bat range includes Gunn & Moore, Gray-Nicolls, Kookaburra, New Balance, adidas, DSC, Newbery and Chase.
But we're a multi-brand cricket retailer for a reason. Sometimes the bat that suits you isn't the one you expected to buy. Compare shape and pickup first, then worry about what is printed on the back.
Your First Cricket Bat?
Keep it straightforward. Correct size, manageable pickup, sensible price.
You don't need the biggest edges or the cleanest piece of English willow to learn how to bat. You need something you can get into position, bring down straight and swing again a few hundred times in the nets without feeling like you've borrowed someone else's bat.
The same rule applies to juniors. Control first. There will be plenty of time for expensive bats, obsessive grain counting and lengthy discussions about handle shape later.
Before The First Net
Check whether the bat needs knocking in before you introduce it to a hard cricket ball. Natural willow often needs preparation, which can include oiling, knocking in and adding a protective face or toe guard. Some bats arrive partly or fully prepared, so check the instructions for the model you've bought rather than assuming every new bat is ready to face 75mph immediately.
After that, basic care goes a long way. Keep the bat dry, keep an eye on the toe and edges and sort small cracks before they become large ones. Our cricket bat care range covers the useful bits.
And take it out of the kit bag when you get home. The combination of damp whites, a wet towel and Saturday's banana isn't doing the willow any favours.
Which Cricket Bat Should You Choose?
If you've made it this far, don't make the final decision harder than it needs to be. Get the size right, find a pickup you trust and choose a profile that makes sense for the pitches and cricket you play. After that, let willow grade, handle shape, brand and budget narrow the shortlist.
The right cricket bat should become fairly boring once the bowler starts running in. You're thinking about length, field, score and the ball coming towards you. Not whether the bat was technically 2lb 9oz or 2lb 10oz.
That's usually a good sign you've bought the right one.
Browse adult cricket bats and kids' cricket bats at Pro:Direct Cricket.
