With 150 years of heritage, it’s hard to pick out the best Gray-Nicolls cricket bat ever. Everyone has their own story of why their bat means the most to them:
- The first bat they had
- Their hero used it
- They scored the winning runs with it in 1993 County Cup Pairs Cricket Final
In this blog, we're taking all factors into account to discuss what the best bat ever created by Gray-Nicolls is. We’ll suggest five, and we want you to get in touch with us a tell us if we nailed it.
So what makes a cricket bat great?
Firstly, design. What feeling does the design on the bat evoke. Is it bold or pared back? Brightly coloured or demure?
Who used the bat? So often the success of a bat is linked to the player that used it. If an iconic batter holds it, then it will be deemed iconic itself.
If a bat scores highly on both those, we're on to a winner.
Some of the best
We can’t go through every iconic bat we’ve ever made, but here’s a selection of five legendary cricket bats that live long in the memory:
1) The Scoop
We had to start here. Possibly the most famous Gray-Nicolls bat, The Scoop was used by a host of stars from 1974 onwards. Initially used by Greg Chappell in The Ashes, and eventually taken on by Clive Lloyd, Sunil Gavaskar and Barry Richards.
The design was bold, eye catching and so different to what had come before. And of course, the take up of the Scoop by customers was record breaking. Many people now have full collections of Scoops given their affinity for the bat.
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2) Powerspot
A stunning bat that is remembered so fondly; every iteration that returns to our range is compared to the original. Used with style and grace by so many people’s all-time favourite David Gower, it’s the bat that powered him to superstardom. Back-to-back Test centuries in 1983, first vs New Zealand at Headingley and then against the same opponent to get on the Honours Board at Lord’s. The design is second to none – huge silver powerspot with red circles on the outside; we brought it back in 2024 and people went wild for it.
3) Elite
Mention the Gray-Nicolls Elite and cricketers of a certain vintage mention only one man: Robin Smith. “The Judge” as he was known became synonymous with the Elite, with is stunning flared yellow sticker. It was eye catching in person and on television, particularly when Smith was unfurling one of his infamous square cuts.
4)
Powerbow
The bat that launched the career of Sir Alastair Cook on the international stage and fired Andrew Strauss to Ashes success in 2005, the Powerbow is a modern-day icon. The name of Cook ensures the bat goes into the pantheon of greats; Cook strode out for his debut Test in Nagpur in 2006 and struck a famous century on debut. The rest, as they say, is history. With yellow and red stickers that flare towards the toe, the bat is a fan favourite and has spawned eight editions.
5) Vapour
A truly stunning bat, 2022 saw the launch of Vapour into the Gray-Nicolls collection. The blue and black design was instantly recognisable, flaring across the back of the blade to make the bat look wider than ever.
The bat was used by some icons too – Ollie Pope and Harry Brook used the original version while Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam used Vapour in green colourway as they reached the final of the T20 World Cup Final.
Bats for all times
Five bats. Different eras. Same feels. But which of those five are your favourite? We’d love to hear your thoughts – send us a message on social – we are @graynics everywhere.
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