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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Of bats and batting prowess by A. C. de Silva The game of cricket is many years old with the first Test being played in March 1877 between Australia and England in Melbourne, Australia. Earlier, the Sunday Observer had the story of how the cricket bat came into being and today we feature a pioneer in the manufacturing of cricket bats - Don Ward of England who had the privilege of making bats that caught the fancy of cricket greats like Don Bradman, Sir Len Hutton, Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Colin Cowdrey, Trevor Bailey, Jackie McGlew and other cricket immortals too numerous to mention. Don Bradman, Sir Len Hutton and Sir Garfield Sobers had record breaking Test scores which gave a high standing to the man who made the bats that helped the great ones make those outstanding scores. Ward was known to be a stickler for minute detail regarding his work and the story goes that one day he muttered: "A shade too heavy in the head for Colin", and with two deft strokes of his home-made draw knife, skilfully removed one three-hundredth part of an inch from each side of the blade, taking out the excess weight saying to himself "That's just right". He was in charge of the Slazenger factory at Horbury and he has had the honour of supplying his Gradidge bats for the top players in the game. Of the many remarkable skills possessed by this dedicated craftsman to strike the unbelieving onlooker, he fits and shapes to final tolerances comparable to those involved in high efficiency racing engines, he is known to complete 24 special bats every working day. These he tests first on the scales for weight. Then he picks up each bat and emulates the favourite stroke of the man for whom it is intended. He says: "I've been making specials for so long, I can tell if a bat is right, better by copying a man's favourite shot than by using a special balance machine". The recipient stars have readily agreed. Besides the Slazenger bats for the clubs, he takes great care in the making of Gradidge bats for most of the meticulous customers who are a happy and contented lot. The stars have their particular way of thinking. Sir Colin Cowdrey is keen about the grain. Joe Parkinson who was the chief bat designer for Slazengers in the past and one of the country's greatest experts on wood for cricket bats personally used to select split wood for Cowdrey. He says the best bats come from three roll trees and that the way to tell a good bat is by upending it and looking at the grains on the bottom. What should one look for when buying a bat? One time England cricket captain Sir Colin Cowdrey lists six points: 1. A comfortable handle, thin at the top, thick at the bottom for most right-handed batsmen. 2. Goof 'feel' when picked up and swung. 3. Grain straight and evenly spaced; whether it is narrow or wide is not important. 4. Thickness and depth in the driving area. 5. Perfect fit at the joints and examine carefully for splits. 6. A reputable maker's name on the bat. Jackie McGlew - the former South African cricketer likes the point of balance well down the blade. Mcglew has said that when one was playing a bowler like Freddie Trueman the batsman will have plenty of time for the backswing when he is running in, once he sends the ball the batsman will have to move the bat quickly. If there is plenty of meat on the bottom it brings lots of singles off forward strokes. Sir Len Hutton used the lightest bats Don Ward had ever made - 2lb 2 1/2 ounces. This aided fluent movement and helped towards the runs that Hutton scored. He also liked one edge thicker than the other as a boost to his immaculate cover driving. Jim Stewart took the heaviest bat - 2 lbs 8 1/2 ounces - that Don ever made and promptly went out to hit the most sixes in one innings. In the early part of the last century, Don Ward made Gradidge bats from beginning to end. Sophisticated machines in recent years have eliminated all the rough donkey work of initial shaping, cutting, compressing, and the like. But the final stages until recently depended on craftsmen like Don Ward and his colleagues. That was the reason why Slazenger constantly groomed a steady flow of apprentices to learn the good work of bat making. The cricket bat bas been a lovingly made instrument and deserve careful usage and these points should be noted: There is greater chance of over oiling than under oiling and so the following advice should be closely followed: a) A new bat should have one coat of oil applied with a soft rag or even with the palm of the hand, to the face, edges, toe and back, care being taken to keep oil from the wrapping twine on the handle. No further oil should be applied to the back but at intervals of a few days two or more light coats should be given to the face, edges, and toe. Between oiling, the bat should be kept in a horizontal position. b) After use, the bat's face and edges should be given a thin coat of oil and the face cleaned over with fine sandpaper. Finally, a fine application of oil should be made with the palm of the hand, just leaving the face of the bat moist. c) Only raw linseed oil or special bat oil should be used. A new bat should be played in slowly, preferably with balls that have been used for some time. Dampness is not good at the base of bat and should be avoided as far as possible. |
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