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| The life of a cricket bat starts long before it ever reaches the cricket field. It starts in a sett bed in the lush English countryside near Suffolk. We are, of course, referring to the Willow tree. Willow trees generally grow for a minimum of fifteen to twenty years before they are felled, thus the process of cricket bat creation truly begins. |  |
| As there are some 90 species of Willow, the type that really stands out is called Salix Alba Caerulea, also known as "Cricket Bat Willow". This willow is by far the best type to use in order to create choice cricket bats. Many of the other types of willow have been experimented and tested with little success, however some cheaper cricket bats found today are used with other types of willow, such as Salx Fragilis and Salix Viridis. The quality though, simply does not compare. |  |
After the trees are felled and shaped into massive logs, they are cut into pieces 28 inches long. One willow tree will usually make 3 or 4 of these pieces. They are then stood upon their ends, and an experienced willow merchant will mark out what will become the clefts, ie the choice pieces. In the time we live now, with all the furious technology we have at our disposal, it is refreshing to know that the process involved in getting to this stage have been around for more than a century, even more amazing to see that this method is still the best way of doing things. |  |
Next, we use an axe and wedges to split the pieces, before they are sawn into clefts. The ends are then dipped in wax to stop the ends of the grains splitting during the drying process. This drying process can vary depending on the creator of the bat, but generally it will take around six months. Kilns are sometimes used to accelerate this process, however other traditional merchants will use a barn-like building and allow a full twelve months for this drying process to occur.
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