| Once you have oiled your new cricket bat you need | | | | bat, making sure you cover all of the face of the |
| to spend some time conditioning it before using it in a | | | | bat, excluding the splice area. Don't knock-in the back |
| competitve environment. This is done by the process | | | | of the cricket bat. |
| of knocking it in. | | | | After you have done this gradually increase the force |
| Ideally you should knock in any new cricket bat for | | | | with which you hit the bat, making sure you |
| at least six hours, yes it's a lot but it will help | | | | systematically cover all of the face of the bat. By |
| condition your bat for heavy usage without damaging | | | | the end you should be hitting the bat with full force |
| it. | | | | to simulate the impact of a real cricket ball. |
| You should also knock-in your new cricket bat even | | | | When you have finished knocking in the bat, you |
| if it comes advertised as 'ready to play', as it still | | | | should first progress to using the bat for out field |
| won't be ready for the full force of a hard new | | | | practice and then in the nets against an old used high |
| cricket ball, especially if you catch an edge or the ball | | | | quality cricket ball, especially avoid 'bat breaker' |
| hits the toe. | | | | cricket balls, you know the ones, cheap, hard and |
| I've seen players go out on to the square with a | | | | usually shiny. If your bat is going to break or split it's |
| brand new cricket bat, which hadn't been knocked in. | | | | these balls that'll do the damage. |
| In the first over he dug out a Yorker, which resulted | | | | Once you've played the bat in for a few hours in the |
| in a 'fatal' crack in the toe of the bat. If it had been | | | | nets it'll be ready to take out on to the square. |
| knocked in properly it's unlikely this would have ever | | | | It's a tedious process but well worth the time and |
| happened. If you don't knock in your bat you could | | | | effort for the results you'll get for your hard work. |
| literally be 'throwing £200 down the pan'. | | | | Its worth mentioning that some sports shops may |
| To knock in your bat I highly recommend you use an | | | | offer a knocking in service for a small fee. Personally |
| old high quality cricket ball. | | | | I like to do it myself to see how the bat progresses |
| Begin gently by tapping the bat, particularly focusing | | | | as it becomes more knocked in. |
| in on the edges, as these are a very vulnerable part | | | | For more cricket tips, news and gossip, head over to |
| of the bat and by the end you want the edges to | | | | and discover the #1 under used cricket secret, that |
| be almost slightly rounded. | | | | you can use today to explode your cricket batting |
| Spend 2-3 hours doing this stage of knocking in the | | | | and bowling! |