The Legends That Used Gray-Nicolls Cricket Bats

The Icons That Used Gray-Nicolls Cricket Bats : Legendary Players and Their Greatest Moments

Gray-Nicolls cricket bats have been the choice of cricketing icons for 150 years and counting. Relive the biggest names and their best moments as we deep dive into some real cricketing heritage.

A Hand Made Heritage

One visual in cricket appears season after season. It’s a visual that brings together craft and quality, time and again. It’s the sight of a cricketer, holding their cricket bat aloft after a century, with the red flash of Gray-Nicolls front and centre.

It goes back 150 years, to when we first started making Gray-Nicolls cricket bats in Robertsbridge, through eras and decades, with icons and innovations that ensured that Gray-Nicolls cricket bats truly was and is “best-in-class”.

So here’s to the legendary batters and cricket bats that paved the way for today’s glory – let’s celebrate them and their innings’ today.

The Hall of Fame – Legendary Cricketers Who Used Gray-Nicoll

Barry Richards (South Africa)
Barry Richards is perhaps the ultimate “what might have been” cricketer of all time. Richards, an iconic cricketer with unparalleled ability, played just four Test matches because of apartheid in South Africa. In those four Tests against Australia he made his mark, scoring two centuries and two fifties. His second innings 126 at Gqeberha would prove his last for his country.  
His overall first class record included 80 centuries, coupled with his 18 List A tons made him one of the batters of his generation.

-Bat: GN Scoop
-Iconic moment: 140 vs Australia, 1970 — maiden Test ton

David Gower (England)
Lord Gower, as he was known, is up there with England’s finest ever strokemakers. Gower had it all, grace, flair, and an innate ability to score runs and look good doing it. Having debuted for England in 1978 with the Gray-Nicolls Four Scoop, Gower is principally remembered for his Ashes brilliance with the Gray-Nicolls Powerspot in hand.

In 1985, Gower scored 732 runs at 81 against the old adversaries as England won the series for the final time on home soil in 20 years.

-Bat: GN Powerspot
-Iconic moment: 215 vs India, 1984 — a masterclass in strokeplay

 
Greg Chappell (Australia)
One of the most important batters in the history of Gray-Nicolls, Greg Chappell helped change the course of cricket bat making by walking out to bat with the Gray-Nicolls Scoop in the Ashes series of 1974. Little did he know it, but the bat was about to become synonymous with him. Chappell amassed an exceptional 24 Test match centuries for Australia, with a best of 247 against New Zealand. 

-Bat: GN Scoop
-Iconic moment: Centuries in his first and final Test matches.

Michael Atherton (England)
Former England captain Mike Atherton is perhaps best remembered for his titanic tussles with South African fast bowling great Allan Donald, but to remember that battle alone does a disservice to his international career. Yes that innings said all you need to know about the player – resilient, resolute, and highly talented – but there was more to him than just one rivalry. 

With 16 Test tons, he scored centuries against all but one of his opponents (Sri Lanka in just four matches) showing that this was not just a man with a favoured foe, not Atherton could do it against anyone.

-Bat: GN Powerspot & Dynadrive
-Iconic moment: 185* vs South Africa, 1995 — 10 hours of legendary concentration

Sir Alastair Cook (England)
From the moment Alastair Cook was brought into the Test team, via a last minute diversion from the Caribbean to Nagpur, he was the bedrock of the side. A debut ton against India began one of the game’s great career – 33 Test centuries in all from that always tricky opening position. Cook had dips in form and famously almost lost his place in 2010, but it was his guts and determination that saw him rediscover his very best on the all-conquering Ashes tour of 2010-11. 

Upon announcing his retirement, Cook would have one final Test match to cement his legacy, poetically against his first opponent India. A second innings century ensured not a dry eye in the house at The Oval as Sir Alastair walked off into the sunset with his Gray-Nicolls Classic cricket bat.

-Bat: GN Powerbow
-Iconic moment: 106 — debut century

Brian Lara (West Indies) 
Classy, cool and insanely talented, there was nothing Brian Charles Lara couldn’t do with a bat in his hand. The West Indian icon wrote his name into the history books many times in his career. It’s 1994 that is remembered best, for this was a year like no other. First Lara broke the Test world record score, 375, against England in Antigua. Then, a couple of months later, he scored an incredible 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in the County Championship. 

Having continued to be the flag beater for West Indies cricket, Lara regained his world record in 2004, scoring 400 again against England in Antigua.

-Bat: Gray-Nicolls Scoop 2000
-Iconic Moment: 375 Test record

The Bats Behind the Greatness

Gray-Nicolls cricket with icons of the sport we love – it’s an unbeatable combination! Check out which players used which cricket bat over the years.

Modern Legends Carrying the Torch

The icons of the past have now given way to the superstars of the present; the game’s modern greats that continue to evolve how cricket is played.

Kane Williamson is the longest standing current international to use Gray-Nicolls cricket bats since their debut to the current day. His first Test came against india in 2010, and each of his 33 Test tons have been scored with a Gray-Nicolls cricket bat. He continues to excel in all formats for his country with his Nova.

Tammy Beaumont is an all-time great in the women’s game and has gone from strength to strength with a Gray-Nicolls GEM cricket bat in hand. She’s made an incredible double ton in an Ashes Test and became the first woman to score a century in The Hundred – not bad going!

Harry Brook’s rise to global superstardom coincided with joining GN. In his relativiely young international career, Brook has scored eight Test and one ODI tons, including his record-setting 317 against Pakistan with his Gray-Nicolls Stratos 1.0. Add to this tons in The Hundred and The IPL, and there is not much Brook hasn’t done.

Shop the Legacy – Find Your Gray-Nicolls Bat now

If you’re inspired by the greats of the game or the modern-day icons, the Gray-Nicolls bat collection is unparalleled in tradition and innovation. From a reimagining of The Scoop, our latest innovation NEOCORE, or a bat from our 2025 range, we truly have something for everyone. Start your own legacy today.

Gray-Nicolls has announced a new Teamwear partnership with the iconic MCC - read all about it here