Why do you nock in a cricket bat?

Answer 1

Hi, After knocking in any old cricket bat, you should not oil it. If you don't knock your bat in before oiling, the sanding stage of oiling will not remove some those densely packed fibres you've compressed, which is a waste of a few hours (and wrists!) work.

Knocking your bat: Knocking your bat will do two things: Prevent water seeping deep into your bat in wet conditions, damaging it; and (ironically) helps the willow to retain its natural moisture. If the bat dries out too much and is used, the wood becomes brittle and cracks easily.

Oiling will help to retain a little moisture, but not too much. NOTE: DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU'RE USING A BAT WITH "EXTRATEC" OR A SIMILAR LAYER OF PLASTIC FILM OVER THE BLADE AND EDGES. MOVE STRAIGHT ON TO oiling IN. If you knock the extratec, the glue will lift around the edges of the plastic and the extratec will come straight off (with the oil). Use a medium-grade piece of sandpaper and lightly sand back the blade (front face), edges and (if you want) back of the bat.

You don't need a great deal of sanding, just enough to take a tiny layer of wood off the surface. After sanding, I like to run my (dry) hands over the blade and edges to take away any left-over sawdust, so it doesn't get caught by the oil. Now, using ONLY raw linseed oil or approved cricket bat oil (which is most likely the same anyway), put a very small amount onto a chux cloth and spread evenly over the bat blade, edges and (again, if you feel so inclined) the back of the bat.ipsa12893798565a.z/c,mx

DON'T OIL THE SPLICE (the triangular bit at the top of the blade). The splice holds the handle to the bat, using a water-based adhesive, and linseed oil will dissolve the glue, causing the handle to prematurely come away from the blade (very embarrassing and expensive). Don't over-oil the bat either, as the linseed oil softens the bat as it soaks in, but only a small layer should soak deep enough to not adversely affect the bat. If you put too much on, it won't soak deep enough, and will soften the blade ALOT.

Most websites I've read say to put enough on so that you DON'T see it running down the blade when the bat stands upright, but I like to err on the side of caution, so I put three quite thin layers on over a period of three days (24 hours between each layer to let the oil soak deep into the willow). When resting the bat after oiling rest only in a horizontal position, with the blade facing upwards. After the final layer, leave it to rest for 24 hours before knocking in.mjjjjjdjslkkkkkkkajsdxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxsjbxjsaxjsa

I recommend re-oiling at the start of each season, with maybe two to three hours of knocking in on older bats. Knocking in: The basic goal of knocking a cricket bat in is to compress the willow fibres across the blade and the edges, so that the ball flies further and the wood is stronger. Willow is naturally a quite soft wood, so if you hit it with something hard (like a cricket ball) in its natural state, its likely to absorb a lot of the energy in the ball, rather than transfer it back to the ball so that it travels further off your bat. Start with getting your bat pressed by your bat store (most places have a facility for pressing bats).

This will give you a little head start. Next, get an old ball, or a proper mallet (also most likely available from your bat supplier) that has either a hardwood head or a cricket ball attached to a handle. Start by wrapping your ball/mallet in an old sock, so that the blows are softened for the first stage. Tap the bat, starting in the middle of the blade and working your way out and around the entire blade. This stage can be done using the force supplied by moving your wrist: you shouldn't need any extra power from your arms. This should be done for 1 to 1.5 hours. After this, take the old sock off and repeat for another hour.

For each hour up until a total knocking in time of 6-8 hours has been completed, slightly increasing the force applied for each hour. By the sixth/eighth hour, you shouldn't still be using the full force of your arms, but the ball/mallet should be bouncing reasonably off the blade. For the edges, to be completed within the same 6-8 hours as the blade, strike both directly along the blade and at a 45 degree angle to the front edge of the bat.

As I mentioned, you should be able to see the fruits of your labour, because the bat should progressively become harder as your knock it in, and you should notice that the ball/mallet is bouncing off the blade much faster than at the start.

Answer 2

You can't really tell if the bat is fully knocked in over the whole blade. The purpose for knocking in a bat is to form a thin hard layer on the outside of the bat to protect the soft willow from being damaged and increase the overall lifespan of the bat. 6 hours of juggling with a ball using a mallet and someone giving you gentle thrown downs is usually sufficient Along with good oiling.

Answer 3

Why on earth would you want to? It's very unlikely to do the job for you, if you don't want to buy a mallet just get a cricket ball and knock that against the bat - although that is a pretty hard way to do it.

If you play cricket, chances are you'll know someone who can lend you a mallet. If you don't, buy a mallet and accept lots of people will want to borrow it!

Answer 4

we do knock a cricket bat because it is knocked ...:P

Answer 5

the correct work is mallet. if you are thinking to use metal hammer than you will have to throw your cricket bat in dustbin.

NEVER DO IT.

Answer 6

Half an hour, according to a V-Sports.