CRICKET BATS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 April 1931, Page 7

CRICKET BATS

NO DEARTH OF MATERIAL, QUANTITIES IN STORE. WANGANUI, April 11. Dispelling the idea that the blight in willow trees in parts of England would seriously affect the cricket bat industry, the representative of one ot England’s leading hat manulactiucis gave some interesting information with reference to the willow used in the industry when interviewed to-day. He. said that the blight in Hertfordshire and Suffolk would cause a slim tage of material, although if the diseases serious the price of first-grade willow would undoubtedly rise. Such, lio\\e\ei, were the stocks held in store and i“ cure that any shortage would not he felt for several seasons. The idea that the two counties mentioned produced all the willow in cricket bat nianulacf uro was quite wrong. Certainly, bats made from willow grown there had th e greatest driving power in relation to weight. “First grade bats,” he continued, “are all made from the trunk of the tree and for really choice bats nothing is used except the first ten feet of timber from the base. The timber from higher up and from the larger branches is used in the making of cheaper grades, the verv cheapest boys’ bats being made from the branches.

“The suggestion that willow for bats should be grown in New Zealand is no new one. Rats have been made from New Zealand willow for several years, but they have not been satis'actory. Just as' in England, willow does not grow to the same texture in all parts, so in New Zeaalnd this change in texture is even more marked. M'st imported timbers grown in New Zealand mature much faster than the same trees grown in England. It is estimated that an oak tree grows in New Zealand in forty years to the size that would take it 100 years to develop in England. This fast growth tends t<’ sappiness and weight, and practically all willow in Now Zealand that has been tested is far too heavy for cricket hat making.

“Willow is grown in Cashmere, India, and lias been used for cricket hats for some years. Though this Cashmere timber is lighter than the New Zealand wood it dents with use and absorbs so much oil that it becomes dead and umlulv heavy.

“It is possible that the soil in some parts of this country will prove suitnbl for willow growing, but it would take anything up to thirty years to mature tin' wood, and when matured it might and probably would, be unsuitable. Not only soil conditions have to be reckoned with, but atmospheric conditions also have to be- studied.”