A batsman's ball-spanking dream (Mjolnir cricket bat)

Member Name: Morgenhund

Product:	Mjolnir cricket bat
Date:	04/05/01 (643 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: probably the best bat that money can buy

Disadvantages: Expensive

Newbery cricket bats are without doubt the finest handmade English cricket bats you are ever likely to see. Whereas other companies like Slazenger, Gray Nicholls and Duncan Fearnley have tinkered with the shapes of bats to make their bats seem lighter, without apparently jeopardising the sweetspot of the bat, Newbery have remained faithful to the traditional shaped bats and still produce incredible bats from their workshop in Robertsbridge.

The company remains a small business, but this doesn't detract from their skill, in fact if anything it actually enhances their reputation, since you know that with a Newbery, the bat will have been hand-made and finished, chosen from the finest English willow.

The Mjolnir, which is named after the the Thunder Hammer carried by Thor, the Norse god of war is their top of the range bat. Whilst you might think that the RRP of £239.99 is extravagent, and yes to think of it compared with a Big Bertha Driver, which is around the £300 mark but which will last considerably longer (although I doesn't have to absorb the same level of impact), it might seem a tad pricey, although it will last for a couple of seasons, using it week in, week out, and for more occasional batsmen longer.

Of course as with any bat, the Mjolnir requires a knocking-in period, which is the most frustrating thing (the only frustrating thing really...) about this bat, as you just want to get out and play with it. Naturally its life can be affected by the way it is stored, and of course it requires oiling initially to make sure that the moisture in the bat is retained. Storing it in a moist, almost damp environment, preferably unheated, will also help to stop the bat from drying out.

The bat is available in two grades (whereas most Newbery's are available in three grades). The first grade, made from the finest quality willow, is the Players Natural (Mens RRP 239.99 - Junior sizes RRP 124.99) and is the choice of profess
ional players. The second grade Selected 5* (RRP 179.99) is still one hell of a bat, far too good a bat for most club players.

The Mjolnir is available in weights from 2lb 8oz and upwards, and is one hell of a joy to play with. For drivers of the ball, the ridged profile helps to add maximum power when driving and being a thicker bat, it means the bat has an enlarged sweetspot.

The handle is elliptical towards the splice, which helps with gripping the bat, and the handle is again of the highest quality.The graphics on the bat set it off. Gray Nicholls, Slazenger and Gunn and Moore all look suitably garish is comparison with the refined black and gold on the Mjolnir.

If you want the Rolls Royce of cricket bats, this is the one to get. All in all a faultless bat, although of course you have to pay for the privilege. Millichamp and Hall's "Harlequin" bat (RRP £230) comes close but nothing surpasses the mighty Mjolnir.

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