Bat Preparation

At Smashing Frog, we understand that our customers are excited to use their new bat straight away. So, get your new bat knocked-in professionally and have it ready to play immediately.

All our English Willow Bats are ready to use with basic preparation (knocking-in and oiling) before it can be used against a hard cricket ball. All bats come pre-pressed from the factory. Pressing gives a degree of conditioning and compresses the bat by 4 to 5 mm before it is sent to retailers. However, bats still need more knocking for grains & fibres to compress & strengthen.

Knocking-in a bat is a very essential and vital process to ensure its longevity and get the best performance. Cricket Bats are expensive items and it is important to take good care of it. The knocking-in process reduces the chances of a crack in your bat by 80%. Therefore, it is highly recommended to knock in a bat before it is used. This process maximises the performance of the bat.

The knocking-in process can be done by hand using a wooden mallet. Typically, this process requires about 18-20 hours of knocking. If not done right, this may affect the performance and the life of your bat.

To save the time and energy of our customers, Smashing Frog uses a fully automated machine to knock in the bats. The bat will be ready to use in 45 minutes.

Our knocking machine is designed with modern day technology with an option to preset the desired number of knocks. It knocks in the bat thoroughly. The moving rollers ensure that it covers the toe, edges and the blade. We give 15,000 knocks to every new bat and no further knocking is required after that.

• Knocking-in service is available during checkout at the time of your purchase.

Once your bat has had the complete bat preparation service you should consider having an Extratec fitted to get maintenance-free use and longevity out of your bat. 

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us