Iconic bats/bat sponsorships

[Nado_]

Hi , just a fun list for me on the most iconic players and bat sponsorships, as you can tell my favourite era of cricket is the 90s and early 00’s
Some iconic player and bat sponsors for me:
Lara - MRF (genius I think it was)
Tendulkar- MRF (those front drives full face of the bat showing the MRF logo was iconic
Ponting - Kookaburra
Imran Khan - Ihsan (was it the IK bat or something?)
Afridi - (for me his MB Malik was more iconic than his boom boom) some of his most memorable sixes were from that bat and some great picture shots of him and that bat
Rohit Sharma - CEAT
Inzamam ul Haq - CA
Sangakarra - SS
Ms dhoni- Reebok
David Warner and his custom square toe gray Nichols

Honourable mention: Sehwag- Britannia (have to say was an ugly bat though lol)
Botham - Duncan Fearnly

This is just a personal list I’m sure for others there are other player bat sponsors which people found iconic. Please share your lists and thoughts

 

[Rana]

Younis Khan- no sponsor

Best ever bat to score big daddy hundreds

 

[Nado_]

Younis Khan- no sponsor

Best ever bat to score big daddy hundreds

Haha yes, does anyone remember when he was sponsored by BDM? Was that the only time a Pakistani was sponsored by an Indian brand?

 

[Bullet Drive]

Haha yes, does anyone remember when he was sponsored by BDM? Was that the only time a Pakistani was sponsored by an Indian brand?

Ahmed Shehzad used SS ton in the 2016 T20 world cup

But he probably was using them for free.

 

[angrypathan]

Mark Waugh - Slazenger

 

[BreadPakoda]

Sachin hit 200* with an iconic Adidas bat
Nayan Mongia had a Wills Four Square bat
Marcus Trescothick Gray Nicolls
Ganguly Hero Honda

 

[IcedCapp]

Dravid - Britannia

 

[ElRaja]

saeed anwar and razzaq used to use the A.S. Sports bats, dont know if its classed as iconic but the pictures etched in my head

 

[angrypathan]

Kevin Pietersen - Adidas

 

[angrypathan]

Younis Khan- no sponsor

Best ever bat to score big daddy hundreds

Iconic. Michael Clarke also scored his 329 against India with no sponsor.

 

[Rana]

The Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen Woodworm bats where certainly iconic during the 2005 Ashes series

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Two of my most favorite was Imran Khan's when he played with GM Maestro.

And then, when Dean Jones introduced Kook's Super Legend in the 80's.

I was absolutely in love with both bats.




And this was the era when players were perhaps not sponsored by bat manfucaturers.


These days, it has become a cunning business.

Bat makers pay hefty amount of money to have their stickers put on the players' bats.

But truth of the matter is, hardly any international level top batsman plays with the bat they are advertising.

And in turn, bat makers sell a hellva lot bats by making the consumer believe that he is buying a bat that his favorite batsman plays with.

(I mean MRF is not even in the business of making bats AT ALL. All their bats are made by BDM or someone else, and they simply put their stickers on it. Their business is tire manufacturing.)

There is perhaps no international pro level batsman who plays with an off the shelf bat. Every such batsman has their bats custom made.

Some GM Pro bats could be whittled in the shape of signatured batsman BUT the difference is in the quality of willow.

General public simply does not get their hands on to the quality of willow that is reserved for international pros.

This scam has resulted in astronomical increase in the bat prices.

Players brand made bats are sold up to £700 a piece. I mean, seriously, what the heck?
I even saw a GN bat with Rolling Stones sponsorship for £1500 (obviously a collector's item) but still, the bat prices have gone crazy due to these sponsorship scams.

 

[Nado_]

saeed anwar and razzaq used to use the A.S. Sports bats, dont know if its classed as iconic but the pictures etched in my head

View attachment 104913

I was really tempted to put Saeed Anwar and the AS bat in my list (especially since he’s one of my fav batsmen) but I wasn’t sure how long he used the AS bat

 

[Nado_]

Kevin Pietersen - Adidas

Got to agree with you there

 

[Dark_Horse]

Woodworm bats looked iconic

 

[Nado_]

Woodworm bats looked iconic

I had a woodworm bat was really good, for some reason woodworm just didn’t take off from their short peak and is more or less extinct now.

 

[Rana]

I had a woodworm bat was really good, for some reason woodworm just didn’t take off from their short peak and is more or less extinct now.

All the juniors/posh kids at cricket clubs had Woodworms back then. They were massively popular due to Flintoff and KP

 

[ElRaja]

another from my childhood

steve waugh and his GM

 

[Thomaskutty]

The greatest bat sponsor is easily MRF. Look at their roster -

Lara
Tendulkar
S.Waugh
Kohli
DeViliers

 

[Dark_Horse]

another from my childhood

steve waugh and his GM

View attachment 104936

Gm Greame Smith is also an honourable mention

 

[Kaka4pope]

Yousuf and Gray-Nicolls

 

[Colorblind Genius]

In England, I think one of the most ionic bat was Duncan Fearnley's Magnum. How can we forget?

Botham introduced it and then it got popular with many pros. The original vintage model is a collectors item in England and Australia

 

[Nado_]

Yousuf and Gray-Nicolls

Was this the bat he used when he did the record breaking test run year?

 

[Nado_]

In England, I think one of the most ionic bat was Duncan Fearnley's Magnum. How can we forget?

Botham introduced it and then it got popular with many pros. The original vintage model is a collectors item in England and Australia

Wow that certainly is iconic have to say!

 

[Nado_]

I remember Slazenger was a big brand in England back in the 90’s, it’s kind of died out now though

 

[Saj]

Growing up Duncan Fearnley was the big name to have but they were damn expensive.

I recall my first decent bat was an import from Pakistan - Ihsan. What a middle and even the edges went for 4.

 

[Ummii]

Morgan using CA

 

[Nado_]

When playing in local park leagues in Birmingham (where 90% of the players are British Pakistani or from Pakistan ) all the big hefty guys or the big hitters would have the MB Malik bats bubba shere or shere amin and those bats were just huge!

 

[ElRaja]

In England, I think one of the most ionic bat was Duncan Fearnley's Magnum. How can we forget?

Botham introduced it and then it got popular with many pros. The original vintage model is a collectors item in England and Australia

minimalist old school stickers look really nice on bats imo

 

[Nadeemp]

In England, I think one of the most ionic bat was Duncan Fearnley's Magnum. How can we forget?

Botham introduced it and then it got popular with many pros. The original vintage model is a collectors item in England and Australia

Viv richards came to Sharjah in the 80s. AJ sports had just started. Viv gifted his DF bat to AJ sports for some reason. My older brother knew one of the sales uncle at the store. We went a few times and he would let us take it out of display and hold for a bit. Magical moments.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Growing up Duncan Fearnley was the big name to have but they were damn expensive.

I recall my first decent bat was an import from Pakistan - Ihsan. What a middle and even the edges went for 4.

That's new.
I thought you didn't know how to hold a bat, but you are extremely interested in playing cricket. You know one of those nerd types who are not selected by any team but they make the best umpires.

 

[FastBowlingAllrounder]

another from my childhood

steve waugh and his GM

View attachment 104936

Saw the ads from that era. Steve goes to Waugh with the best Gunn.

 

[UP]

Lara and Tendulkar - MRF.

 

[Kaka4pope]

Was this the bat he used when he did the record breaking test run year?

Yep, did a quick google - magnificent batsman to watch.

 

[enigmatic_stani]

Has to be Wills Kings for me. Growing up it’s the only logo I wanted on my bat as was used by the Pakistani team in the 90s.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Has to be Wills Kings for me. Growing up it’s the only logo I wanted on my bat as was used by the Pakistani team in the 90s.

Wills in 90’s?

Dude, you are talking 60’s and 70’s era of Black n White TV.

 

[Pak Crescent]

"pachaas foot ka balla pasbaan ka
World cup Pakistan ka"


who remembers this?

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Gilchrist and Puma.

 

[JaDed]

Reebok Azhar
Wills,Kingfisher - so many Indian cricketer in 1990s

 

[enigmatic_stani]

You obviously didn't watch cricket in the 90s then. Just google Wills Kings bats and youll see the likes of Anwar, Ijaz etc.

 

[sshakir411]

Kallis played with the Slazenger V100 ultimate for the longest I’ve ever seen. They then made a new one V1000 for him too. Wasim Akram held on to his Ihsan for a long time as well.

 

[Nado_]

Kallis played with the Slazenger V100 ultimate for the longest I’ve ever seen. They then made a new one V1000 for him too. Wasim Akram held on to his Ihsan for a long time as well.

Wasim Akram loved that bat got to say haha

 

[silent ischemia]

Slazenger also sponsored Kamran Akmal for a short period.
Miandad used the AS bat for sometime as well.
And Hafeez is the best advert of the HS brand .....

 

[Rayyman]

Brendon McCullum used to have a Puma bat. He was my favorite player so I used to get Puma everything. Somebody ended up breaking my Puma bat tho.

 

[Mamoon]

Wills in 90’s?

Dude, you are talking 60’s and 70’s era of Black n White TV.

Wills Kings was a very popular bat sponsor for especially for Pakistani batsmen in the 90’s. Saeed Anwar, Ijaz, Rameez, Afridi etc. all used it at some point.

Will Kings bat replicas were all over sports shops in Pakistan as well at the time.

They also sponsored the 1996 World Cup. However, because they were a tobacco company, ICC barred it from sponsorship.

I don’t know what happened to the brand. I heard it was bought by some Indian ton back commpany. Wills was originally British and among the oldest tobacco companies in the world.

 

[Mamoon]

I had a woodworm bat was really good, for some reason woodworm just didn’t take off from their short peak and is more or less extinct now.

Their last major international signing was Malik in 2009, which sums up their decline.

 

[Suleiman]

Spartan- Dhoni and Chris Gayle

Heavy bat, you need a strong player to wield it.

 

[Nado_]

Slazenger also sponsored Kamran Akmal for a short period.
Miandad used the AS bat for sometime as well.
And Hafeez is the best advert of the HS brand .....

I don’t know why but when I think of Hafeez I think of his mids bat

 

[cricketjoshila]

Wills Kings was a very popular bat sponsor for especially for Pakistani batsmen in the 90’s. Saeed Anwar, Ijaz, Rameez, Afridi etc. all used it at some point.

Will Kings bat replicas were all over sports shops in Pakistan as well at the time.

They also sponsored the 1996 World Cup. However, because they were a tobacco company, ICC barred it from sponsorship.

I don’t know what happened to the brand. I heard it was bought by some Indian ton back commpany. Wills was originally British and among the oldest tobacco companies in the world.

Wills that sponsored cricket, was and is owned by ITC since last few decades.

ITC was started as Imperial Tobacco Company in 1910.After independence it became Indian Tobacco Company and its shareholders changed to Indians.

Wills was originally started in 1700s but became defunct in 1901. Its brands taken over by others.

 

[King_Kohli]

Four Square
BDM

 

[Mamoon]

Wills Kings was a very popular bat sponsor for especially for Pakistani batsmen in the 90’s. Saeed Anwar, Ijaz, Rameez, Afridi etc. all used it at some point.

Will Kings bat replicas were all over sports shops in Pakistan as well at the time.

They also sponsored the 1996 World Cup. However, because they were a tobacco company, ICC barred it from sponsorship.

I don’t know what happened to the brand. I heard it was bought by some Indian ton back commpany. Wills was originally British and among the oldest tobacco companies in the world.

Wow that was a terrible typo.

I meant Indian tobacco company.