A common question we receive at Gray-Nicolls is “How many grips should I have on my cricket bat?” The obvious answer is: however many feel comfortable.
Although this may seem a trivial detail, the benefits of having (or not having) extra grips can be crucial.
All bats come with a standard one grip, but some players might like to add an extra grip to thicken the handle a little bit. This will give the player a greater sense of control of the bat in the hands.
Another reason players might add extra grips is to alter the balance of the bat. Some bats might be quite bottom heavy with a large sweet spot toward the toe, so to counter that an extra grip or two will add more weight at the top.
This alters balance which in turn improves the pick-up of the bat (from the ground to ready position) before you hit the ball.
Beware though – adding funky grips and staying “on-trend” might make you look cool at the crease, but it could mess with your set-up and technique. Make sure you practice with extra grips before you go into a match situation.
Watch Craig from Gray-Nicolls attempt to put a bat grip on a fast as possible - with amazing results
