Knocking In Your New Cricket Bat

Nowadays all new cricket bats require knocking-in. This applies to both RNS Larsons Cricket Bats and also to other manufacturers... Although many manufacturers display bats as 'Ready to Play' or 'Pre Knocked-In' they still require knocking in to obtain best performance. Patience is the key when knocking-in your new £200 bat. If you find yourself short of time why not get it done professionally by Cricket Haven?

Cricket Bat Press

Bats that are labeled 'Ready to Play' are just pressed more, mechanically which compresses the willow fibres more. Although, this makes the bats stronger it can result in the loss of performance.

What does knocking in do?

Contrary to popular belief knocking-in the bat does not make the willow harder. On the face of the bat knocking in 'liberates' the willow fibres to attain a much better 'ping' or 'punch' of the bat. Hence knocking-in is recommended for bats that are mechanically pressed (or 'Ready to Play' or 'Pre-Knocked in) to obtain optimum performance.

Note: The cricket bats are not pressed mechanically at the edges or the tow. Therefore it is important that these areas of the cricket bat are knocked in to compress the fibres. This makes the edge of the bat flying off less likely when you edge the ball.

How do I knock-in my cricket bat?

Prior to knocking in your new cricket bat. Three coats of raw linseed oil has to be applied to the face, edges and the back. DO NOT oil the bottom of the toe. From our experience we have found its best to leave the bat for 24 hours before applying the next coat of oil.

We do not recommend in applying a anti-scuff sheet prior to knocking-in since oiling allows for a longer life span of the bat and improved performance after knocking in. The sole purpose of the scuff sheet is to reduce surface cracks.

Once this is done you are ready to knock in your cricket bat.

First using a ruler or a blunt knife press the edge of the cricket bat to see the level of indentation. This is your 'benchmark' for seeing how much knocking in is required.

Then using a wooden bat mallet strike the face, the edges and the toe of the bat with increasing pressure. Special attention needs to be given to the edges as they are the weakest part of the bat. Its fair to see this is a very tedious and boring process and is recommended it is done in 15 minute slots otherwise it probably will put you off the game for life!

Continue the above until the mark you made in step 1 disappears. Test other areas of the bat using the same technique to see if they require more knocking-in. each bat is unique and requires different amounts of preparation. Some may require a couple of hours while other cricket bats may require you to keep knocking in for days. As boring as it sounds it is a very important step and to a very large extent the performance and the life of your cricket bat depends on the above steps.

After knocking-in your cricket bat...

It is a good idea to go to the nets after you have knocked in the cricket bat for 2-3 hours. Grab a friend and ask him to give you throw downs with a good quality old ball. If the ball leaves seam marks on the face or the edges it means more knocking in is required. Now its time to make your way to the training sessions in the nets.

Get a friend to bowl old balls, at this stage you should get a feel for the bat; where the sweet spot is, how it drives and does the ball sound good off the blade. Keep can eye on the bat; the old ball should not leave any large indentations, if it does you might need to knock-in for a further 10-15 mins. When you are satisfied apply the anti-scuff sheet which comes FREE with all our cricket bats to prevent any early surface cracks.

Finally you’re ready for the Cherry. Start by playing against slow to medium paced bowling; the new ball should not be causing damage, if everything looks ok you’re ready to dispatch the quickie to the boundary.