Cricket bats: English Willow "nurtured in India" : eBay Guides

UPDATED: April, 2012: Buyers beware: as I alluded in one of my other guides (see my fake cricket bats article here) on purchasing a genuine cricket bat safely on Ebay: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ENGLISH WILLOW NURTURED IN INDIA!!!
Any willow nurtured in India is Kashmir Willow. End of story. Some sellers are now calling it EWNI - it's still the same thing!
Put it this way - it's like saying the Tower of London is an Indian monument "nurtured in England" or the Taj Mahal is an English building "nurtured in India". That's how ridiculous this is.

Yet, so many sellers continue to flog their cheap rubbish on Ebay and con decent people into paying good money for a pathetic product.
Kashmir Willow vs English Willow is like comparing a Volkswagen to a Porsche: sure, they make look a bit similar to a very drunk man but you are just wasting your money if you pay top dollar for the former, expecting it to perform like the latter.
Kashmir Willow is very cheap, it lacks the durability of English Willow and definitely does not have the same performance. If you do buy a bat made of Kashmir Willow, at least make sure you get it VERY CHEAP. Seriously. Even a Grade 1 Kashmir Willow bat  should not cost more than £20 plus P+P, that's how cheap and tacky the wood is - there are other useful and well-written guides on Ebay about willow grade (some of them by me!), and I would urge you to read more about this.

The main reason why English Willow is so much more expensive than Kashmir Willow should be obvious - the former is grown in English soil, English climate conditions, takes a long time to reach maturity and is a labour of love on the part of the grower. Top quality Grade 1 English Willow is a much-sought after product and is limited by availability , therefore the conmen try to pass off Kashmir Willow as the real deal. Kashmir Willow is grown relatively quickly in dubious Indian soil and the hot/humid climate is completely different, resulting in wood that is often very brittle and lacks the "ping" of English Willow. The fact that Kashmir Willow can be grown much faster is one of the main reasons why it is so weak. Think battery hens vs free range!

You may also wonder what the big deal is about when the sellers claim the willow is "air dried" - this is important as it allows relatively light bats to be made from large clefts of wood when the moisture is allowed to dry naturally in the open air, as opposed to in a drying machine. Air drying adds even more time to the bat-making process but is worth it in the long run if you want a chunky bat but with a decent pick-up. Of course, Kashmir Willow can also be air dried but that's another story!

And don't get deceived by claims that a particular bat is genuine because it has the "hologram sticker" on the back to prove its "authenticity"... You can buy those "hologram stickers" on Ebay! They prove nothing.

These may be my opinions but are based on 15 years of sports journalism, being around some of the finest bat manufacturers in the world (I have covered a Cricket World Cup and literally hundreds of first class matches. I have not met one professional with a bat made of Kashmir Willow. This should tell you a lot!).

Okay peeps, the cricket season in the UK is almost here. Just remember that the usual rules apply when choosing your ideal bat (see all my other guides if you are unsure). And write to me if you suspect you have bought a fake so that we can warn others what to look out for.

TIP: When a bat-making company ends a major sponsorship deal with a big star, their products tend to be much cheaper the following season! So there are lots of great deals on eBay at the moment. Send me a message if you want some examples as I can't mention brands here!

Please read my other related guides and rate them if they were helpful. Good luck for the season :-)