£200-299: BROWSE AND BUY

DSC XLITE 4.0

One of the cheaper bats on display at The Cricketer's testing day, it outperformed its initial impression, with most of the scepticism focused on the diameter of the handle.

Initial impression: 6.0
Build quality: 7.3
Pick-up/feel: 7.7
Performance: 7.0

RRP: £200

Weight: 2lb 8oz

Edges: 39mm

KOOKABURRA BUBBLE

Kookaburra have gone full retro with the Bubble, taking us back to the late 1990s and early noughties with a design that split the crowd.

Initial impression: 6.8
Build quality: 7.2
Pick-up/feel: 8.0
Performance: 8.0

RRP: £225

Weight: 2lb 8oz

Edges: 36mm

SF MAXIMUM CLASSIC

It doesn't come cheap, with a recommended retail price of £390, but – in the grand scheme of bat prices these days – you wouldn't be wasting your money on a dud.

Initial impression: 7.8
Build quality: 7.2
Pick-up/feel: 7.8
Performance: 7.0

RRP: £240

Weight: 2lb 8oz

Edges: 38mm

DSC PEARLA X2

No one could question the quality or generosity of the middle, while its weight – 2oz 9lb – allowed a broad spectrum of strokes.

Initial impression: 7.0
Build quality: 8.2
Pick-up/feel: 8.2
Performance: 7.4

RRP: £240

Weight: 2lb 9oz

Edges: 38mm

NEWBERY BLITZ G4

You wouldn't walk out to bat with this all day in midsummer temperatures, but you might call for it with a couple of overs remaining and boundaries needed.

Initial impression: 6.4
Build quality: 7.8
Pick-up/feel: 5.4
Performance: 6.6

RRP: £250

Weight: 2lb 13oz

Edges: 43mm

OPTIMAX SG

At 2lb 9oz, it wasn't overly heavy and, with edges approaching four centimetres, there was plenty of wood behind each stroke. The quality out of the middle was undeniable.

Initial impression: 6.8
Build quality: 7.8
Pick-up/feel: 8.3
Performance: 6.3

RRP: £250

Weight: 2lb 9oz

Edges: 38mm

MRF GENIUS GRAND EDITION 3.0

Not the lightest pickup in the world and a low middle, but if those things are your cup of tea and if you play your cricket on a low deck, then you could do worse than join Virat Kohli.

Initial impression: 8.0
Build quality: 8.0
Pick-up/feel: 8.2
Performance: 8.0

RRP: £265

Weight: 2lb 9oz

Edges: 41mm

CHASE VOLANTE R7

The somewhat plain design doesn’t mark the Volante R7 out as an especially edgy product but it earned plaudits for its pick-up, especially given a weight of 2lb 10oz.

Initial impression: 7.8
Build quality: 8.6
Pick-up/feel: 8.8
Performance: 8.2

RRP: £280

Weight: 2lb 10oz

Edges: 38mm

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