A version of this article was first published in issue 86 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.

On a bright morning in early March, five WCM staffers rocked up at the Calypso BatZone in Maidstone in Kent. We were armed with two bags of bats, with blades selected from each of our gear partners for 2025. We’d chosen the newly opened BatZone this year in order to check out the place, but also to test ourselves against the fabled BatZone machine, the ‘net simulator’ which replicates the experience of facing a real-life bowler.

Our testers didn’t take long to get their eyes in. Whereas a conventional bowling machine, which we had use of in the other lane, can feel a bit mechanical and rigid at times, the balls (a mix of bowling-machine balls and real ones) spat out from the BatZone offered more natural variation. This, allied to the visuals of a bowler-avatar running up to the crease and the attendant crowd noise piping out of the speakers, creates a more authentic, sensory batting experience. As you can imagine, the Warne setting proved very popular; it was also quite tricky to face.

We followed a strict assessment process, with each tester facing a minimum of 12 balls from either the bowling machine or the BatZone and grading each bat across three metrics:

• aesthetics/initial impressions (mark out of 5)
• pick-up/feel (mark out of 5)
• performance (mark out of 10)

We were less about selecting ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ than getting a sense of what each model could offer across a range of price bands; after all, every cricketer will have their own tastes and personal requirements. Here’s to the new season. Bring it on.

The Testers

CAMERON PONSONBY
AGE: 29
JOB: Freelance sportswriter; WCM contributor
CLUB: Spencer CC
IDEAL BAT: Michael Clarke’s yellow Slazenger c.2012
FIRST BAT: BS Babri. Dark red grip. Smoked it
FAVOURITE BATTER: Brian Lara. He once scored half a thousand by himself

OLLIE WRIGHT
AGE: 25
JOB: Marketing executive for WCM
CLUB: Effingham CC
IDEAL BAT: Light, nice stickers, good ping
FIRST BAT: A Gray-Nicolls with a pink handle
FAVOURITE PLAYER: Jonathan Trott or Adam Zampa

ADAM HOPKINS
AGE: 33
JOB: WCM club cricket editor
CLUB: Pudsey St Lawrence CC/DPR Hot Dogs Shanghai CC
IDEAL BAT: Light pick-up with a low middle
FIRST BAT: Slazenger V1200
FAVOURITE BATTER: Usman Khawaja

YAS RANA
AGE: 29
JOB: Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast host
CLUB: Old Pauline CC
IDEAL BAT: Light, easy pick-up, low middle
FIRST BAT: GM Purist 606 (Vaughan’s Purist era)
FAVOURITE BATTER: KP

PHIL WALKER
AGE: 40 ish
JOB: WCM editor-in-chief
CLUB: Gidea Park & Romford CC
IDEAL BAT: Oval handle, thickish-neck, rounded bat face, duckbill-toe – pick-up is all
FIRST BAT: Stuart Surridge Lightning (long discontinued)
FAVOURITE BATTER: Mark Waugh

New Balance

Stalwarts of the scene these days, churning out industrial quantities of quality bats across the full range of price points. Loyal ambassadors in Joe Root and Steve Smith speak to the brand’s consistency, and latest acquisition Jamie Smith is another classy signing. While they have the money and the multi-national rep, their continued commitment to cricket in the UK – unlike certain other big boys who have reduced their imprint after a brief dalliance – has never been in doubt.

DC 1200 Pro
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 10oz
Edge width: 3.8cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Slightly rounded
Grains: 9
Middle position: Low

Low swell, large edges
Expanded sweet spot
Semi-oval cane handle
Flat face
Natural finish

“I loved how the DC pinged. To be honest I was surprised by how much I liked this, because it didn’t immediately grab me when I first picked it up. But once I settled in, it felt like I didn’t have to put too much behind the ball for it to shoot away” - Yas Rana (who gave it 9.5 out of 10 for performance)

TC 1200 Pro
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 10oz
Edge width: 3.8cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 12
Middle position: Mid-to-high

Mid-to-high sweet spot
Semi-oval cane handle
Large edges
Natural finish

“It felt a bit boxy in my hands, the bat equivalent of one of those old school Volvos that your dad liked, but the unusually high middle had its benefits, the balance was excellent, and the cross-bat shots went nicely, even if it felt a bit tinny on the drive – which could have been my limitations of course. A good hitter’s bat option” - Phil Walker

The TC range starts at £50 for Kashmir willow junior; DC junior in English willow starts at £140
Highest end price for both: £1,100
NB’s Burn range is the lightweight option – nothing heavier than 2lb 8oz

Newbery

Resurgent after a quiet few years, it’s good to see one of the all-time greats back in the game, with a new range and renewed purpose. They sent us a Pulse bat, newly available for 2025, the fourth of their models, joining the classics of the Centurion, Legacy and Kudos. David White, Newbery’s chief operating officer, told us that the first batch of Pulses had already sold out before they’d even officially launched it, which demonstrates both the power of the name and the company’s long association with high-end excellence. And don’t panic, the workshop has been tooling away to bring new batches of Pulse bats to the market in time for the rush to buy at the start of the season.

Newbery Pulse
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lbs 8oz
Edge width: 4cm
Toe guard: Yes
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 6
Middle position: High and wide

Premium English willow
High, wide sweet spot
Big edges
Slightly bowed for enhanced pick-up
Concaved profile

“For a 2lb 8oz bat there’s a lot of wood in this Pulse. This is the modern trick, to press a bat in such a way that it convinces the weedy strokemaker (yep) that they’re wielding a thing of substance. Newbery have pulled this off. The high middle is a trade-off: perfect balance for cross-bat shots, against an exposed toe on those early-season puddings. But if you can get through April unscathed while broadly still trusting your technique, then this is one hell of a good option. A proper batter’s bat” - Phil Walker

“As you’d expect, the Pulse retains the classic look that we associate with the brand and that I personally always look for in a bat, but with the brighter blue stickers and handle, it hints at them embracing modernity. It’s a bit weighty, which normally I wouldn’t like too much, but it counters that with an even, well-balanced feel, the effect being that it feels sizeable and hefty in the hands. And because the balance is so good, it doesn’t delay the bat coming through, giving speed in the arc but also providing the power that a batter leans towards nowadays. I’ve always been a fan of Newbery having had one a few years back, and this one doesn’t disappoint" - Ollie Wright (who gave it an overall score of 18.5 out of 20)

Junior Pulse bats, from Size 3, start at £80
Weight range goes from 2lb 7oz toothpicks to 3lb railway sleepers
The top-end of the top-end is the Centurion, coming in at an eye-watering £850

Gray-Nicolls

Led by visionary master batmaker Alex Hohenkerk, the guys at Gray-Nics are intrigued to see how the new Neocore will go. It’s a departure from their signature style – a statement piece using innovative batmaking technology which is likely to cause ripples through the industry. Their aim, no less, is to redefine pick-up and weight distribution. The innovation comes in the creation of what Hohenkerk calls a ‘cored internal scoop’, which involves removing a column of wood from inside the blade’ middle. The specially designed handle slots into the cored- out space in the lungs of the bat, thus adding extra weight higher up the blade, with the result that previously overly chunky bats are transformed into deftly usable wands.

Gray-Nicolls Neocore
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lbs 8oz
Edge width: 4cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Semi square, extra thick
Grains: 9
Middle position: Mid-to-low

Premium English willow
Innovative cored scoop tech
Huge neck and shoulders
Duckbilled toe
Chunky semi-oval handle

“I was a bit sceptical about the tech until the moment I picked it up, after which I was sold. It reminded me of an old Gunn & Moore 606 I had from about a decade back – chunky oval handle, thick across the shoulders and neck, yet sleek in how it flows. This is the best Gray-Nics I can ever remember picking up. Genuinely that good" - Phil Walker (who gave it top marks for pick-up)

“Looks meaty but picks up incredibly light" - Yas Rana (who gave it 18 out of 20)

Neocore range starts at £350 and goes up to £700
The cored scoop and pinned handle have both been patented
Comes in at 2-3oz lighter than the scale weight of a bat with equivalent profile

Kookaburra

Kookaburra’s main schtick is consistency. There’s no more reliable mass-producer of bats in the world. It’s also always had an edge, which has more than a little to do with Ricky Ponting. The Aussie brand that the UK market fell in love with.

Kookaburra Nickel
Grade: 2.1
Weight: 2lb 8oz
Edge width: 3.7cm
Toe guard: Yes
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 8
Middle position: Mid

Top-end English willow
Extended profile
Minimal concave ‘scalloping’ at the back
Trademark ‘hexa’ grip
10mm-14mm bow in the face

“My standout from all the ones in the bag. I loved the balance of it. Felt great when I got my hands through it. I played a couple of shots that almost made me want to play a full season of club cricket again” - Adam Hopkins (who gave it 18 out of 20)

“It’s hard to get a Kookaburra that doesn’t look good, feel good in the hands, has good balance on the backswing, and go well, and this is no exception. The ping off the extended sweet spot was really notable. I gave it 9.5 for performance, because it felt like it could ride out my mis-hits” - Ollie Wright (who gave it 17.5 out of 20)

Huge range of contemporary Kookaburra models: Kahuna, Stealth, Ghost, Aura, Rapid – and now, new for 2025, the Nickel
Plus Nineties icon the Bubble is available, for the nostalgists

The Top Three

DKP

A Birmingham-born brand formed in 2014 with a cracking origin story, DKP sent us two markedly different looking bats, showcasing the range on offer from a company which, though small in scale, is punching above its weight. The meaty components of the Aqua – a raw hitter’s bat – put it beyond the puny limits of some of our testers, but the Reserve, with its elegant finish and classical style, was a huge hit.

Reserve
Grade: 1+
Weight: 2lb 8oz
Edge width: 4.3cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 14
Middle position: Mid

Minimal concaving
Huge sweet spot
Made from unbleached Grade 1++ English willow
Ultra-light pick-up
One of only 50 for the 2025 season!
Yet still available for £379

“A classic. Minimalist stickers. Really light on the pick-up, feels great in the hands” - Ollie Wight (who gave it top marks for first impressions and pick-up)

Aqua
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 11oz
Edge width: 4cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 8
Middle position: Low

Pronounced spine for maximum power
Low middle for driving
Significant weight in the blade
Semi-oval handle

“An attractive bat. Not hugely familiar with the brand, which gives it added mystery points. Liked it in the hands, felt chunky but not too much. Springy handle which makes it feel like an actual live being rather than a plank of wood” - Cameron Ponsonby

Affordability is their thing: full kit packages for the adult cricketer start from £400
Bats benefit from being triple-pressed for optimum performance
The ‘Elements’ range is their staple; the Reserve is their special edition

DSC

DSC was founded in India in the Eighties and, having grown to become one of the country’s most successful batmakers, in recent years they have been casting their eye to other markets. A look at their ambassadors list confirms it: Usman Khawaja, Rachin Ravindra and Alex Hales form part of an international cohort of stars.

Blak Pro
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 9oz
Edge width: 4.2cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 7
Middle position: Low

Massive edges
Heavily bowed face
Low-swell position
Thin handle

“Small, thin handle, smart. Picked up nice. The low middle works for me. Hit a few drives where I dropped the bat on a couple and they were belted and it made me happy" - Cameron Ponsonby

“Unintimidating in the hands, pretty much the perfect mix of touch and substance, and strong flow through the ball, especially on the drive. The bowed face works well too” - Phil Walker (who gave it 17 out of 20)

Pearla Pro
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 8oz
Edge width: 4.2cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Rounded
Grains: 7
Middle position: Mid-to-low

Expanded mid-level sweet spot
Significant concaving on the back
Duckbill toe

“Beautifully curved back, skinny shoulders, felt very light in the hands – mistimed my first shot and it flew which piqued my interest. It just felt really light and the ball pinged and I think if I had to take one away for the season – I’d stick a yellow grip on it and call it mine” - Cameron Ponsonby (who gave it 17 out of 20)

The Black Pro Grade 1 willow comes in at a very tidy £309.99 – reduced from £499.99 – on the DKP website
Extensive range, totalling seven distinct models
Every bat is handcrafted
Singapore cane is used for the handles

Salix

Needs no introduction. Andrew Kember is still one of the finest craftsmen in the batmaking world. And now the traditional Salix model has been joined by its altar ego the ACID, which has been rolled out to suit the more explosive tastes of the modern-day T20-reared hitter. As the results of our test day reminded us, however, there’s no substitute for class.

Salix AJK
Grade: 1
Weight: 2lb 8oz
Edge width: 3.6cm
Toe guard: No
Toe shape: Smooth triangular toe
Grains: 11
Middle position: Mid-to-high

“How a bat should look. Absolutely gorgeous. Every time I connected with one it made me feel things” - Ollie Wright (who gave it full marks for performance)

“Basically perfect" - Phil Walker

The AJK ranges from £316.00 – £572.00 on the Salix website
Every bat is handcrafted from cleft to finish with the finest English willow
Two distinct models to appeal to two distinct styles of play
Andrew Kember, Salix founder and owner, was recognised in 2017 as a ‘Living National Treasure’ in a series about heritage craftspeople in Country Life magazine