Encouraging Your Child To Get Outdoors With Cricket

Today, it is becoming more challenging to encourage our children to get outside and become active. Team sports, like cricket, can be a great way to get them to do so!

Cricket is a British sport that offers numerous benefits. Your child will learn discipline, patience, and they will gain confidence too. Plus, it is a sport that encourages social interaction. Encouraging your child to take up this sport is good for their health today, as cricket offers a better workout than a lot of people realise! It provides a great cardiovascular workout.

Buying the perfect cricket bat

This is the main piece of equipment for the game, and it is something that can have a massive impact on your child’s performance levels. Keeping that in mind, read on to discover some crucial pieces of advice for buying the best cricket bat…

1. Choose a bat that has been created using English willow – In general, you have two options to choose from when it comes to the material of the bat. You can either go for a Kashmir willow cricket bat or one that has been made from English willow. It is highly advisable to go for the latter since English willow is of a much higher quality. The bat is much softer and therefore you will be able to experience that elusive sweet spot when you are striking the ball.

2. Buy from a well-known brand – Don’t go looking for little bargains or buying bats from a brand that is unknown in the world of cricket. This may work when buying fashionable clothing and such like, but it doesn’t in the world of sport. The well-known brands are well-known for a reason. Therefore, when it comes to cricket bats look for those that have been manufactured by the likes of Nike, Adidas, Gunn & Moore, Kookaburra and Gray Nicolls.

3. Purchase a bat that has anything from six to twelve grains – A lot of people do not realise that it is also important to consider the number of grains when you are purchasing a cricket bat. If you want to reap the rewards of high quality, it is definitely advisable to go for a bat that has anything from six grains to twelve grains. 

4. Buy a covered bat to make sure it lasts longer – Aside from the points that have already been mentioned, when buying a cricket bat you have the option of cricket bats with a covered face or those with an uncovered face. Contrary to popular belief, this choice will not actually impact the performance of your game. However, a covered bat is likely to last for a lot longer, and so you should definitely go down this route in order to reap value for money. 

5. Never buy the cheapest bat you lay your eyes on – Last but not least, cricket bats are available at a vast assortment of rates, from £50 to £500! Of course, you need to budget effectively, but you should never go for the cheapest bat you find as this is likely to indicate a lack of quality. If you want to make some savings, purchase from a sale section instead. Don’t compromise the performance of your game.

What are the best brands for cricket bats?

1. Gunn & Moore – First we have Gunn & Moore. This brand is frequently referred to as GM for short. William Gunn, who was actually a former English Test batsman, founded this company in 1885. This brand is one of the most popular in the world of cricket and so is certainly an exceptional option to go for. Famous names such as Graeme Smith and Shane Watson have used Gunn & Moore bats.

2. Adidas – Next in the list is Adidas. Of course, Adidas is one of the biggest sports companies in the world. It provides equipment for all types of sports, however, it has a great reputation when it comes to cricket specifically. A lot of big names have used Adidas Bats during their career, such as Sachin Tendulkar and Kevin Pietersen. 

3. Gray-Nicolls – Last but not least, we have Gray-Nicolls. This is a company that has an incredible reputation in the world of cricket. The brand has made a great name for itself because of the innovations and advancements it has made, and this is evident when it reinvents its selection of cricket bats. From Andrew Strauss to James Tredwell, there have been many players who’ve used Gray-Nicholls cricket bats.