You’ve bought a new cricket bat – great news! Now you need to make sure it’s ready to play with so you can start scoring runs as soon as possible.
The majority of bats are fitted with a scuff sheet which helps maintain the moisture level in the blade and offers some resistance to the accumulation of surface wear in-play. We recommend oiling the blade when you decide to change the sheet (e.g. between seasons) - two light coats if leaving natural or one light coat if fitting another sheet.
1 coat of oil is around half a tea spoon-full, rubbed in to the face and edges of the blade with a cloth. Leave for 24-48 hours face up after applying between coats or fitting a new scuff sheet, wipe away any excess surface oil with a cloth before fitting a scuff sheet or using the bat.
When removing a scuff sheet you should warm it with a hairdryer if possible to loosen the adhesive and then peel across the face carefully and evenly to minimise lifting of willow fibres. Never remove the sheet by pulling up the blade. It may also be worth lightly sanding the blade before oiling or fitting new sheets.
You can lightly oil the exposed willow on the rear of the blade which will also help with maintaining the moisture level of the blade. However please note it should be applied carefully as contact with the labels may cause them to lift as oil can undermine the label adhesive.
Before match use we would also recommend applying some knocking in and testing the blade against an old used ball with some throw downs in a light net session - if the face blemishes/dents too easily then further knocking in should be applied.
Please use this link for further information and videos on bat care.
https://www.gray-nicolls.co.uk/pages/care-repair
We also have a full range of bat preparation, repair, adjustment and refurbishment services available here: https://repairs.gray-nicolls.co.uk/eng/bat-repair
