Looking for some new willow for the 2025 season? We've ranked six of the best cricket bats you can buy - from top of the range to more affordable models
Choosing the best cricket bat is always going to be down to personal preference. A 2lb 13oz behemoth with a massive middle may suit the biggest hitters, but players with greater finesse may favour something lighter with a more balanced pick-up.
To help you pick the perfect new batting partner - whatever your style, weight requirements and budget - we've tested a selection of the best bats on the market for the 2025 season and ranked them. They include some of the biggest brands around, such as New Balance, Kookaburra and Gray-Nicolls cricket bats.
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Cricket bat sale: Deals on Kookaburra, Gray-Nicolls and Gunn & Moore cricket bats for 2025
Gray-Nicolls is a classic brand, and has had so many prestigious users, so this should be a winner.
Former England batter Mark Stoneman tested it and said that it was “decent”, and “the ball came well out of the middle”, even if he acknowledged that "the handle was slightly not in sync for me".
The Nickel 4.1 is part of the 2025 range for Kookaburra, one of the most iconic bat brands in cricket.
It proved to be a popular bat; one student tester went as far as to say that they "loved" the bat.
New Balance will therefore be delighted that our testers used words like "solid," "sturdy," "trusty" and "consistent" to describe its performance.
There is no greater compliment, in terms of solidity and reliability, than James Coyne naming Chris Woakes as this bat's cricketer equivalent.
A modern take on an English classic, its meticulously engineered weight distribution makes this a winner from the outset.
A star performer among testers, who admired its weight, good coverage and ability to swing easily through the line of the ball.
"It performed well, like most Gray-Nicolls," said The Cricketer writer Nick Friend. He added that its appearance would appeal to youngsters.
As if to prove that point, a student said: "It’s a heavy bat for me, but it has a great middle. Gray-Nicolls are a good brand. I do like a lighter bat, but it’s very good looking."
The SF Incredible 1000 raised a few eyebrows on the day as a brand many were unfamiliar with. But it goes to show it’s not all about stickers and history as it ranked joint-sixth of the 22 bats tested.
The Cricketer’s Nick Friend commented: "I played really nicely with it, which influenced my vote. A brilliant bat I would recommend."
It's tempting in a cricket bat test to ask manufacturers to send us their top-of-the-range custom-made cricket bats that each cost a small fortune, and then marvel at how far we can hit with them in the nets.
But for most club and village cricketers, this really isn't going to be what your cricket bat buying experience is going to be like.
So we asked specialist cricket retailer Owzat Cricket to supply us with a selection of 'off-the-shelf' willows from a range of brands and price ranges. The models we've included above are readily available at most good cricket shops and online.
While some cricket shops have their own on-site nets, generally speaking you're not going to have the luxury of putting your new bat to the test before you get it back to your club. So it always feels like there's an element of risk.
To give you a real-life review of how the bats actually perform, we took them down to the impressive Reed School in Surrey to put them through their paces.
Every bat is tested through a range of shots by our testing team, which this year included ex-England pro Alex Tudor, members of The Cricketer staff and the stars of tomorrow studying at the School.
We then get them to rate the bats across criteria that include initial impressions, build quality, pick-up and feel, and performance, before we average everything out and come up with a final overall score.
Check out the full Club Cricket Guide 2025 here.
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