ExtraCoverDrive
Debutant
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2011
- Runs
- 105
Hello everyone,
Finally got the time to post a review of the Newbery Krakatoa Players edition. I bought this bat off a local store in Toronto for about 300 dollars flat. Been wanting to post the review as early as I got it, but I figured I should reserve judgement on the bat till after atleast a few throwdowns. 7+ throwdowns later, I feel now is the time to properly review it:
SPECS:
The bat is about 2.7 lbs, 8 solid straight grains on it and as you can see from the pictures, pretty well spaced out too. Hardly any blemish on it on the face or the back too! For a midrange bat, Newbery still manages to provide exemplary quality on craftsmanship. Ive been told that a Krakatoa is extremely hard to get at 2.7, but I got lucky in that regard. First time I saw it at the store, I wasn't convinced with the profile to be honest. The meat on the shoulders seemed nonexistent, with the bulk of the meat lower down the spine on the bat. But after consulting with a few friends, thanks mostly to CD and cricketer13, and finally after seeing the 2 reviews on the Krakatoas on this forum, I was pretty much convinced.
PICK UP/FEEL:
The pickup is where this bat scores a solid A1. Ive held many top of the line bats in my time spent around cricket clubs, but this bat is right up there among the very best. I am a huge fan of lighter bats, as opposed to meaty bats, since I am mostly a nudger of the ball. But a few throwndown sessions with it has convinced me to express myself more as a batsman
Needless to say, the balls were flying off this bat like it never did before. It almost encourages me now to change my batting style a bit from a nudger like Fawad Alam 
to someone like Salman Butt :
Back to topic, the pick up is somewhere between a very light Icon and solid meaty CA 10000 PLUS which I am sure most here are familar with. As light as the bat feels in the hand, I must say it still feels rock solid. There is this amazing sweet soft wood ping sound everytime the bat meets ball that I havent seen in many other top of the line bats. Very pleasing I must say.
OVERALL:
Just to give you an idea, I own a Blade 950 Kookaburra top of the line bat that I had bought last year for 500 bucks. If I could go back in time, I would be more than willing to spend those 500 bucks on this Krakatoa and still be super happy with the purchase. Thats how satisfied I am with this purchase.
Buying a top range Newbery bat can be pretty expensive, but going by how good this midrange bat is playing, I would say it'd be money well spent. Here's hoping someday, i'll review an SPS Newbery Krakatoa.
As for the pictures, forgive the noobness of it all. Not a fan of photography much
Finally got the time to post a review of the Newbery Krakatoa Players edition. I bought this bat off a local store in Toronto for about 300 dollars flat. Been wanting to post the review as early as I got it, but I figured I should reserve judgement on the bat till after atleast a few throwdowns. 7+ throwdowns later, I feel now is the time to properly review it:
SPECS:
The bat is about 2.7 lbs, 8 solid straight grains on it and as you can see from the pictures, pretty well spaced out too. Hardly any blemish on it on the face or the back too! For a midrange bat, Newbery still manages to provide exemplary quality on craftsmanship. Ive been told that a Krakatoa is extremely hard to get at 2.7, but I got lucky in that regard. First time I saw it at the store, I wasn't convinced with the profile to be honest. The meat on the shoulders seemed nonexistent, with the bulk of the meat lower down the spine on the bat. But after consulting with a few friends, thanks mostly to CD and cricketer13, and finally after seeing the 2 reviews on the Krakatoas on this forum, I was pretty much convinced.
PICK UP/FEEL:
The pickup is where this bat scores a solid A1. Ive held many top of the line bats in my time spent around cricket clubs, but this bat is right up there among the very best. I am a huge fan of lighter bats, as opposed to meaty bats, since I am mostly a nudger of the ball. But a few throwndown sessions with it has convinced me to express myself more as a batsman
Needless to say, the balls were flying off this bat like it never did before. It almost encourages me now to change my batting style a bit from a nudger like Fawad Alam to someone like Salman Butt :Back to topic, the pick up is somewhere between a very light Icon and solid meaty CA 10000 PLUS which I am sure most here are familar with. As light as the bat feels in the hand, I must say it still feels rock solid. There is this amazing sweet soft wood ping sound everytime the bat meets ball that I havent seen in many other top of the line bats. Very pleasing I must say.
OVERALL:
Just to give you an idea, I own a Blade 950 Kookaburra top of the line bat that I had bought last year for 500 bucks. If I could go back in time, I would be more than willing to spend those 500 bucks on this Krakatoa and still be super happy with the purchase. Thats how satisfied I am with this purchase.
Buying a top range Newbery bat can be pretty expensive, but going by how good this midrange bat is playing, I would say it'd be money well spent. Here's hoping someday, i'll review an SPS Newbery Krakatoa.
As for the pictures, forgive the noobness of it all. Not a fan of photography much
