Every Gray-Nicolls bat begins long before it reaches the hands of a batter. Long before a cover drive pierces the field, or a century is raised to the crowd. The story starts in the quiet corners of the English countryside, where willow trees have been nurtured and harvested for generations.
Roots in the 1920s
In the 1920s, Len Newbery and Don Bridger were already shaping the legacy of Gray-Nicolls. With nothing more than hand saws and axes, they felled willow from as far afield as Essex, splitting the rounds themselves. Their ambition soon grew into something larger: a dedicated willow plantation in the nearby village of Etchingham. That plantation remains in the company’s hands to this day — a living link to cricket’s heritage.
Pictured: Len Newberry and Don Bridger at the heart of the production process. With thanks to the Bridger family (Bridger Family Collection)
Growing Our Own
By the 1990s, Gray-Nicolls had expanded its willow operations at Robertsbridge to become the only company in the industry to grow all of its own English Willow. This independence has been the foundation of the brand’s reputation. Salix Caerulea and Alba Var, the finest cricket bat willow varieties, are grown under a replenishment programme pioneered nearly 100 years ago — ensuring that every tree harvested is part of a cycle of sustainability.
As demand for bats surged worldwide, particularly from India, Gray-Nicolls extended its reach, acquiring plantations and contracts across the UK. When an industry-wide English Willow shortage struck, the company responded with innovation, pioneering lamination technology to improve bat yield from each tree without compromising performance.
From Tree to Cleft
The process of creating a bat begins when the willow arrives at Robertsbridge. The logs are cut into roundels, sealed, and left to dry for several days. The bark is stripped away, the timber is marked, and then split into clefts — the rough beginnings of a cricket bat.
Each cleft is air-dried for around six weeks to reduce its natural moisture content to the perfect level for performance. At this point, master graders assess the quality of every cleft, selecting only the finest for the bats that will one day take to the crease.
The Art of Bat Making
From cleft to crafted blade, every Gray-Nicolls bat passes through the hands of Master Bat Makers. Handles are turned on a lathe and fitted into the clefts by hand, then the shaping begins. It is a delicate balance: pick-up, weight, balance, and power must come together to create a bat that feels like an extension of the player.
Once shaped, the blade is pressed, compressing the natural fibres to unlock performance and resilience. The bat is then sanded and buffed to its final finish before the handle is bound and glued for strength.
At every stage, craftsmanship is paired with rigorous quality control. Each bat is struck with a traditional Lignum Vitae mallet, testing its performance before it earns the Gray-Nicolls name.
A Century in the Making
The final touches — the iconic red flash, the labels, the grip — are applied by hand. But the story of the bat began years earlier, in the soil of Sussex, in the planting of willow saplings that would one day fuel cricket’s greatest moments.
From source to century, every Gray-Nicolls bat is more than equipment. It is the product of a heritage that spans generations, a partnership between nature and craftsmanship, and a commitment to ensuring the willow’s story continues for centuries more.
