Laver & Wood Private Bin

Author's product rating:   

Power	Excellent
Control	Excellent
Comfort	Excellent
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	made to your specifications
Disadvantages:	price tag

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Laver & Wood are a relatively new entrant in to the cricket bat market, having only been in existence for a very short while. I happen to have been a very lucky winner – a web ad on the Cricket Club website for the club I play for in Austria, meant that I was the first person in Austria to have one of these beautiful bats. A lot of the information within this opinion is worth bearing in mind if you are looking for a cricket bat in general – not just one of these beauties.

The name “Private Bin” will be more familiar to oenologists than cricketers. Laver and Wood are based in the wine growing region of New Zealand and the best wines are always kept in the “Private Bin” and similarly the best willow is used to make these bats – all blades having a minimum of 7 straight grains (your average club bat will only have about 4-5 at most….)

This is tantamount to a Rolls Royce in cricketing terms – a Private Bin bat will set you back $US 325 and is totally handmade to your specifications, and includes shipping to anywhere in the world (as a guide it takes about 10 days for a bat to get to Austria from New Zealand) and for non commonwealth destinations you might find that an import duty is charged (I paid ATS 240 approx £11): When you order your bat you have to specify the following details:

Handle length: (super short, short or long handle), which of course depends partially on your height and style of play – the bat should not be any higher than your hip when standing upright – with difference in handle length being approximately 2cm per size – although this of course has a great deal of bearing on the centre of gravity of the bat, and bat speed when playing shots. Another option to having a long handle is to have a longer blade and a short handle, which can be a better idea than having a longer handle.

Weight: The Private bin is available in a range of weights (in increments of 1oz) from 2lb 7oz to 3lb 6oz. I chose a 2lb 9oz bat, having played with similar weight bats for a long time. Great time and consideration should be taken in thinking about the weight of your bat… Things to remember are that weights are with one normal thickness grip on the bat (a single grip adds about 1 oz to bat weight). Many players like two grips or two and a half grips – extra thick bottom grip – although with the advent of oval handles two and a half is becoming less frequent).

Position of sweet spot: Here you have another three choices. Normally the sweet spot of the bat is between 4 inches and 12 inches from the toe of the bat, an there are two alternatives to a normal sweet spot bat, namely one with a low sweet spot (3”-11” from the toe) or a high sweet spot (5”-13” from the toe) If you consistently play on tracks where the ball gets up then a higher sweet spot is probably going to suit you more. If you play more shots on the half volley, then the normal to low sweet spot will be a better choice. I doubted the accuracy of the position of the sweet spot, but have just checked it with a ball on the bat and sure enough it is just where they claim it is.

Handle: Oval (standard) or round handles can be chosen. Personally I would stick with the oval grip which helps to dissipate the shock of ball coming on to the bat quickly a bit better, and also ensures that you do not play so much with your bottom handle – it is very hard to grip too hard with an oval handle. All handles are triple sprung for maximum shock absorption.

Further considerations: If you live in a flat, then the noise of knocking in a cricket bat is likely to drive your neighbours mental (especially in cricketing backwaters like Vienna’s 5th District!) so the knocking in service, which means that your bat is ready to play with when you take delivery of it, could prove a godsend and is an extra $US 50.

The bat is a very simple traditional shape – none of the gimmicks that have entered the market in recent times like notches out of the back, scoops, or even the paddle shoulders (of the old V6!). The bat has a straight face, something which is missing on a lot of Asian bats with their considerable bow in the blade. The bat feels solid, and strong, with square edges, and a squared toe – rather than a rounded one that seems to be frequently the case on other bats.

There is also no gimmicky feel to the bat with no over elaborate graphics sprawling all over the blade – no outlandish name, just a quality bat. I have just started using my bat having spent a while knocking it in, and I can’t wait to see its full power next season, as I feel it is too good to use during the indoor season, and also is not really the bat to slap the ball with, although for straight drives it might just come into its own. Overall a great bat, although the price tag is likely to be somewhat out of reach for most players.