There are 3 options, depending on how much you already know about what custom options you want to order.

1. If you know exactly what you want already, then you can head to our shop and choose your options there.
2. If you have a few questions, you can email James (the batmaker) at [email protected] and he will be able to help with everything you need.
3. If you have more than a few questions, head to our bat sizing page, fill in the form and James (the batmaker) will be in touch to walk you through the entire process.

When searching for a custom, bespoke cricket bat maker you’ll probably find us amoungst a very distinguished list like this:

• Laver & Wood
• Salix Cricket Bats
• Hunts County Bats
• B3 Cricket
• Blank Bats

What makes us special:

• We have James Laver making our custom bats, he has over 30 years experience making bats by hand.
• We operate out of a small workshop in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand.
• Everything is customisable. Labels, profile shape (includes edge thickness, toe shape, and spine height) bat weight, handle length and shape, handle type (determines handle stiffness), willow grade, sweetspot position and more
• We only make bats from the finest English Willow bought directly from JS Wright and Sons.

tt

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

We have 2 shipping options available to most areas at checkout.

If you’re ordering from New Zealand there is:

• a local pick up option if you’re in Hawke’s Bay
• $20 overnight courier for the North Island
• $30 overnght courier for the South Island

For most overseas customers there are 2 options

• New Zealand Post Courier
• DHL / Fedex Courier

DHL / Fedex Courier is the quicker option.

For the USA and Canada we use Fedex and for the rest of the world we usually use DHL. These usually deliver within 5 working days worldwide.

Prices for shipping depends on what you order and is automatically calculated at checkout once you enter your address.

Yes! If you live in Hawkes Bay or are passing through then please select ‘Local Pickup’ at checkout and come see us at Westshore, Napier.

You’ll be able to see our showroom and look through the windows into the workshop to see where your bat was made.

Yes we do, most of our orders are from overseas customers.

For most overseas customers there are 2 options

• New Zealand Post Courier
• DHL / Fedex Courier

DHL / Fedex Courier is the much quicker option.

For the USA and Canada we use Fedex and for the rest of the world we usually use DHL. These usually deliver within 5 working days worldwide.

Prices for shipping depends on what you order and is automatically calculated at checkout once you enter your address.

All our bats are well protected during shipping.

First they are secured in a plastic sleeve to ensure they stay dry throughout the shipping process.

Next they go into a cardboard sleeve to protect the spine from any knocks.

Next they go into the custom cardboard box for the final layer of protection. 

It is very rare we have any bats damaged in shipping, the only times have been when obvious accidents have happen (like being run over by a vehicle). 

What cricket bat size should I use?

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

tt

The best place to store them when they are not in use is somewhere they will stay dry. Ideally a wardrobe or storage cupboard. Overly hot or damp places are not ideal.

tt

Why oil a cricket bat? The main purpose of oiling is to maintain moisture levels within the blade, and thereby reduce the chances of cracking and splitting. HOWEVER, if too much oil is applied it will fill the airholes in the structure of the willow and this will kill the performance (ping) of your bat. Your bat needs air pockets in the willow to achieve a bounce.

When to oil cricket bat?

We only recommend oiling with 1/4 teaspoon of raw linseed oil for the whole bat once every 2-3 seasons. 

Yes, often a damaged cricket bats can be repaired. We offer a repair services for splits, cracks, broken handles and many other things. Just send us a photo of the damage and we’ll let you know what’s possible. You can also check out our repair page here.

We believe knocking in a cricket bat by hand is the best way to do it. Each piece of willow is different so it required nuance when knocking in.

tt

ttt

While you could make a cricket bat shape out of any wood, not many would perform as well as Willow. JS Wright explain it well “It is lightweight, appealing to the eye, while categorised as a hardwood species, it has softwood properties. It has a “diffuse porous” cell structure with stiffness, density and great impact resistance. It is the impact resistance that sets is aside, there are other trees that are more dense but English cricket bat willow has a similar impact resistance to a tropical hardwood that has a density ten times greater.” Willow is the perfect wood as it has the unique properties of being lightweight while also being great impact resistance and bounce.

According to Aviation New Zealand you cannot take a cricket bat as carry on luggage. It must be checked in luggage. “All sports equipment that could be used as bludgeoning weapons are restricted from carry-on luggage, but they can go in your checked-in luggage.

Sports equipment that must go as checked-in luggage includes baseball, cricket and softball bats, cricket stumps, croquet mallets, golf clubs, hockey sticks, ice skates, and pool and billiard cues.”

As always you should check with the airline you are flying for the most up to date information.

Source: Aviation New Zealand

tt

tt

tt

tt

tt

Maecenas eu placerat ante. Fusce ut neque justo, et aliquet enim. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nullam commodo neque erat, vitae facilisis erat. Cras at mauris ut tortor vestibulum fringilla vel sed metus. Donec interdum purus a justo feugiat rutrum. Sed ac neque ut neque dictum accumsan. Cras lacinia rutrum risus, id viverra metus dictum sit amet.

Fusce venenatis, urna eget cursus placerat, dui nisl fringilla purus, nec tincidunt sapien justo ut nisl. Curabitur lobortis semper neque et varius. Etiam eget lectus risus, a varius orci. Nam placerat mauris at dolor imperdiet at aliquet lectus ultricies.

Duis tincidunt mi at quam condimentum lobortis.

If your stock cricket bat hasnt been used and is still in original new condition you can email [email protected] to arrange returning it for a refund.

Return postage costs are the responsibility of the buyer to cover.

For custom made cricket bats we don’t accept returns unless they are under warranty, please see our warranty page for more information.