Boasting more bats than ever before, our 2011 Gear Test saw us eventually whittle down the offerings on display to a shortlist of 52, which were shipped to Lord’s and tested by our panel: four former international cricketers and one lucky competition winner. Following a truly inhuman amount of throwdowns, the bats were rated and this was the top ten that emerged. If you’re looking to splash some cash on a bit of willow this summer, well, these would be the choices of our experts.
THE PANEL
Henry Ledden: 27-year old Sussex native who won a competition offering a place on our panel. A more than decent player who turns out for Rottingdean CC in East Sussex Division Two, he’s a cracking lad who favours a traditional profile and likes his bats to clock in at around the 2lbs 9oz mark.
Mark Butcher: Former England and Surrey left-hander who has scored more runs than you’ve had hot dinners. Also plays a mean guitar.
Lou Vincent: New Zealand batsman currently turning out for Sussex. The proud scorer of a Test double-hundred, believe us when we say he hits the ball unfeasibly hard.
Neil Fairbrother: Lancashire legend and England ODI batsman extraordinaire. Proudly refers to himself as a “fussy so-and-so” when it comes to his bats.
Matthew Maynard: One of the most gifted strokemakers of his generation, Maynard hammered a wealth of runs for Glamorgan, Northern Districts, Otago and England over the course of a glittering career.
From left to right: Henry Ledden, Mark Butcher, Lou Vincent, Neil Fairbrother, Matthew Maynard
THE TESTING PROCESS
In order to make the test as fair as possible, all the bats were tested ‘blank’, i.e. had all their sticketing removed or covered up. Our panel then judged them across three categories:
First Impressions – Instant appeal (marked out of 100)
Feel/Pick-Up/Balance – How it felt in-hand (marked out of 100)
Performance – How sweetly it dispatched the ball to all parts (marked out of 200)
Thus each bat was given a final score out of 400. Simples.
THE BATS
Kookaburra Kahuna 1000
AOC Ranking: 10
Score (out of 400): 300
RRP £380
One of Kookaburra’s light offerings, this bat doesn’t have a dramatically chunky middle like other bats in this list, preferring to spread the wood evenly from top to bottom. It results in a very consistent pick-up and it gives better security to the batter when the middle isn’t found. The ball pinged crisply off its flat, wide-grained face.
Gray-Nicolls Powerbow
AOC Ranking: 9
Score: 301
RRP £349.99
Not overly finessed, there’s an old fashioned look and feel to this blade and, despite a sizeable middle and edges, the pick-up is lighter than it looks. Unstoppable on the drive, enough wood has been removed up top to allow you to stay in control on the cut. If you like your stick reassuringly sturdy, rather than featherlight, it’s a wonderful choice. Boasts arguably the best pick-up of the whole top ten.
Maynard endangers another AOC thrower in his quest to find his favourite bat
Millichamp & Hall Amplus
AOC Ranking: =7
Score: 302
RRP £380
A sizeable and hugely popular offering. A hefty and notably high sweet spot leaves little at the toe, but the enormous edges and excellent pick-up amply compensates. The position of the middle indicates its target market – back-foot players and big hitters. A double-layered grip on the bottom hand worked for our testers.
Black Cat Shadow
AOC Ranking: =7
Score: 302
RRP £240
A modern mid-priced bat from an up and coming brand, this bat went down well with all testers and garnered approving nods when we revealed its price. Having also performed strongly in the 2010 gear test, Black Cat are clearly a mnufacturer to keep your eye on.
Gray-Nicolls Oblivion Extreme Pro
AOC Ranking: 6
Score: 304
RRP £224.99
As used by Alastair Cook and JP Duminy, this bat has a chunky, low middle and is ideal for a batsman who likes to get on the front foot and play thumping drives. This stylish and modern piece of willow proved particularly popular with Mark Butcher, who noted its easy pick-up for such a chunky blade.
Willostix Anaconda
AOC Ranking: =3
Score: 305
RRP £295
A genuinely beautiful bat and by some distance Neil Fairbrother’s favourite. Combining retro-cool with a sweet pick-up and a handle so svelte it could double as Bobby Charlton’s hairline, this bat looked like a throwback to cricket’s golden age yet still offered superb performance to each of our testers.
Warsop Stebbing Marlin
AOC Ranking: =3
Score: 305
RRP £225
A vast, beautiful blade boasting some epic edges and a relatively high middle, the Marlin received huge scores from everyone bar Lou Vincent, who couldn’t quite bring himself to love it despite nearly decapitating his thrower with two brutal, consecutive straight hits. Easily one of the prettiest bats we got our hands on this year, punishing on the drive and not sell-your-kidneys expensive, we expect Warsop to sell a lot of these.
Duck & Run Kensington
AOC Ranking: =3
Score: 305
RRP £195
Duck & Run may be relatively new on the scene but they proved they can mix it with the big boys, with the Kensington ranking highly across the board. Matthew Maynard was a big fan of this grade one English willow blade, commenting on its light-as-a-feather pick-up, classical shape and design and deceptive power.
Bulldog Pedigree
AOC Ranking: 2
Score: 306
RRP £210
Beautifully crafted with a low middle, rounded-off edges and tight grains. No bow, and no lesser for it. A crisp, sharp sound accompanied bat on ball. Every tester enjoyed it, especially Fairbrother, with consistent scores across the board.
Bradbury Players
AOC Ranking: 1
Score: 310
RRP £330
“Yeah, I’m going to like this one,” stated Matthew Maynard the moment he picked up this bat, and considering he proceeded to murder absolutely everything that came his way it’s fairly obvious he was right. But he wasn’t the only one – every single one of our testers raved about how easily it picked up before setting about smashing the ball back at our poor ball throwers as hard as they possibly could. Combining superlative all-round performance with a stylish, classical profile, this was just an outstanding bat and the clear and worthy winner of our test. Well played Bradbury. They simply don’t do bad bats.
The Bradbury Players bat: the winner of the 2011 AOC Gear Test
