JPGavan Secret Willow / Custom Made Cricket Bat

I started JPGavan Cricket when I as 16 in 2012. Since then we have served all cricketers from junior players to international stars. I am a cricketer and aim to provide the equipment cricketers want and deserve.

I have been hand making cricket bats here in Sydney, Australia for over 10 years and offer a way to order your custom bat online or come into our workshop and watch it being made. JPGavan Cricket is my passion and life's work and I hope to continue serving the cricket community and building my business.

As a bat maker it's my job to help you score more runs. That means making sure you have a cricket bat which is perfectly designed for you to use. Each JPGavan custom bat is unique and handmade! This means we're getting the best out of every piece of willow. Lets score runs together this season!

Email: Josh@JPGavan.com
Contact: 0447670311

All our custom made bats are proudly and officially made in Sydney, Australia!

Our goal is to make a bat that is ideal for you, your game and the conditions you play in. I want you to score as many runs as possible with the most perfect cricket bat. Here is a bit of advice on how to pick you custom bat specs:

Size:

Weight:

Your final bat weight measured in pounds and ounces or grams. Usually this is based on your level of strength and ability to play all your shots.

Male:

For male senior bats the usual weights are between 2lb 7oz-2lb 10oz with anything less considered light and anything more considered on the heavier side. Anything over 2lb 12oz is considered very heavy and needs a high strength level to use.

Female:

Female cricketers consider something between 2lb 4oz-2lb 7oz the ideal weight but I have to make some sacrifices in getting the weight that low without losing too much power. I can reduce the width of the blade slightly and/or drop the shoulders of the blade to help with weight and moving that wood behind where you'll be hitting the ball. It can be difficult to find the perfect bat like this in stores.

Junior:

Sticker colour:

Personal preference.

Bat shape:

The shape of the back of your bat. Concaving is a curve made between the edge and spine that helps to reduce weight whilst keeping the middle and edges as big as possible while full shapes are flat between edge and spine and are more forgiving for off-centre hits. Semi concave is a more slight curve than a full concave. Keep in mind when I'm making your bat I'll have to get the wood off from somewhere to get it to your ideal profile, so keeping a full shaped bat light means reducing the overall thickness.

Edge size:

This will be the thickness I made the edge of your bat. My recommendation here is to select what you feel confident with in your bat. Some batters will want really big edges that make the bat forgiving, but it does add weight to have a thicker edge, so it's worth being realistic in making your perfect bat.

Handle shape:

Handle customisation is a favourite of most of my clients. I can make bats with oval or round shapes being thick or thin or anything in between. It is totally personal preference. I tend to recommend something you're used to and comfortable with unless it's not working. The top hand will always be round, the bottom hand is what I customise.

Benefits:

Round - allows you to manoeuvre your hands around the bat for different bowlers. Good for bottom hand dominant players

Oval - allows for a lighter bottom hand grip and helps the bat not twist in the hands as much if a ball strikes slightly off centre.

Semi Oval - best of both worlds and usually the most popular.

Handle thickness:

Thickness is usually based on how big your hands are. If you have smaller hands I'll make the handle a bit thinner, and thicker for bigger hands.

Sweetspot position:

The sweetspot is the thickest part of the back of your bat giving that area the best performance. It's related to where you hit the ball on the bat when you are looking to score. Low middles benefit playing down the ground on lower bouncing pitches while high middles suit square of the wicket or back foot players on good quality turf or synthetic pitches. There is room in the middle for all different types of players if you feel you play all round the ground (mid) or just lean more toward one shot range but want something for a bit of everything (mid-high or mid-low).

Facing:

Clear or fibre face placed on your bat. This is always recommended to help prolong the life of your bat. Fibre not available to send separately.

Grip:

1 grip or extra grips if you prefer a thicker handle.

Knocking in:

Knocking in is required on all cricket bats. You can either spend the time yourself to look after it or let me look after it for you. This takes 7-10 days to complete.

Other instructions:

This is your chance to add anything else you have in mind for your bat. Any special requests. If we have discussed your bat and it's not included on these specs please remind me here as I'll only have these specs in front of me when I make your bat. You can also add preferences like bow and toe protection and toe shape here. We're here to make the bat of your dreams - so let us know. Our standard toe is a round shape. We can do semi round and square toes but don't guarantee them under warranty as it's more likely to be the cause of toe damage.