Two woods, two very different bats, and a lot of marketing noise in between. Here is the straight version.
They are not the same tree
English willow is Salix alba caerulea, grown mostly in the east of England on wet, low-lying ground. It grows fast, and it grows into a wood that is remarkably light for how strong it is. The cell structure is fibrous and slightly spongy, which is exactly what you want: it compresses under the ball and springs back.
Kashmir willow is a related species grown in the Kashmir valley in northern India. Same family, different climate, different soil, different result. It grows denser, harder and heavier.
What that means when you hit a ball
Willow performs because it deforms. The fibres compress on impact and rebound, giving the ball energy back. English willow does this beautifully. It is soft enough to compress and elastic enough to spring.
Kashmir willow is harder and stiffer. It does not compress as much, so it returns less energy. The result is a bat with a smaller effective sweet spot and less rebound. You will feel it as a duller, flatter contact, and you will notice it most on mishits, where an English willow bat still gets the ball away and a Kashmir bat does not.
Kashmir willow is also typically heavier for the same profile, because it is denser wood. To get a Kashmir bat down to a normal playing weight, you have to make it smaller.
The two things Kashmir does well
Being fair about it:
- Price. It is genuinely cheaper, and for a beginner who is not sure they will keep playing, that matters.
- Durability. Harder wood dents less. A Kashmir bat survives being left in a car boot, dragged around a school bag and used on concrete. It will not necessarily perform, but it will survive.
That makes Kashmir a sensible choice for a very young beginner, a backyard bat, a knockabout bat, or a spare you keep in the car.
Where the advice usually goes wrong
The standard shop line is "Kashmir for beginners, English when you get serious". The problem is that plenty of adult club cricketers are told to buy a $250 Kashmir bat when a real English willow bat sits not far above that.
Our Performance grade is English willow at $499. It is Grade 3: it has marks, the grain may not be perfect, and we are upfront that some of those imperfections could have a small effect on how it plays. But it is English willow, pressed properly and shaped by hand in our Sydney workshop, and it will out-hit any Kashmir bat on the market.
If you are a regular club or grade cricketer, the honest advice is: save a bit longer and buy the entry English willow bat rather than the premium Kashmir one. You will get more out of it, and you will keep it longer.
What about laminated and hybrid bats?
Worth mentioning, because it is about to change the market. From 1 October 2026, a law change permits Type D laminated bats in open-age recreational cricket. A laminate uses two or three pieces of willow bonded together, typically a performance English willow face over a cheaper backing. Done well, they can deliver close to English willow performance at a lower price point, and they are more durable.
We have laminates in trial in the workshop now. Join the laminated cricket bat waitlist.
How to tell them apart
English willow is pale, almost white to creamy, with soft grain lines. Kashmir willow is noticeably darker, browner or greyer, with a coarser look and often a more polished, lacquered finish to disguise it. If you have both in your hands, the difference is obvious.
Be careful with anything sold as "willow" with no country attached, and be very careful with a bat sold as English willow that costs less than the raw cleft would.
The bottom line
If cricket is a hobby you will play once or twice, Kashmir is fine. If you are turning up to training and playing every Saturday, buy English willow, even at the entry grade. It is not a status thing. It is the material doing a job the other one physically cannot.
You can see our full English willow range in the custom cricket bat builder, from Performance at $499 through to Featherblade, or browse pre-made cricket bats ready to ship.
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