Cricket bat care monsoon guide: oil, cover, and where to store it

Cricket bat care monsoon basics

Willow is wood, and wood takes in water from the air. From June to September the air in most of India stays above 80 percent humidity for weeks. A bat left in that air gains weight, the face goes soft, and the toe starts to swell.

Good cricket bat care monsoon habits come down to three things. A thin coat of oil before the rain, a cover that lets the bat breathe, and a dry place to keep it. Get those right and the bat comes out of the wet months playing the way it went in.

English willow suffers more than Kashmir willow. It is lighter and softer, so it takes in damp faster. A Kashmir willow bat is denser and more forgiving, but it will still swell at the toe if it stands in water.

One thin coat of oil before the rain

Oil puts a light seal on the grain so the face does not drink in moisture. Use raw linseed oil. Boiled linseed oil dries hard and can crack, and cooking oil goes sticky and smells.

Do it once, at the start of the wet season, on a dry day. Take about one teaspoon, roughly 5 ml, for a full-size bat. Rub it into the face, the edges and the back with your fingers or a soft cloth. Keep it off the stickers, the handle and the splice where the handle meets the blade. If the bat has a toe guard, leave the toe alone.

Lay the bat flat, face up, and let it dry for 24 hours in a room with a fan. Wipe off any oil still sitting on the surface.

More oil is not more protection. A soaked bat gets heavy and dead off the face, and the extra oil holds damp under it. One thin coat in June is enough for most club players. If your bat has an anti-scuff sheet on the face, the face is already sealed, so only the edges and back need oil.

A cover that breathes

The cover keeps rain and dirt off, but it must let air move. Pick a full-length cotton or canvas cover that pulls over the whole bat, handle and all. A padded cover is worth having if the bat travels in a crowded kit bag.

Skip the plastic sleeve or zip bag that seals the bat in. Any damp inside stays there, and mould grows on the face and under the grip within a week or two.

Never put a wet bat into its cover. Dry it first, then cover it. Wash a cotton cover once a month through the season and let it dry fully before it goes back on. Cotton covers, raw linseed oil and care kits sit together in the bat accessories.

Where not to store it

Three places do more damage in the monsoon than a whole season of nets.

The car boot is the first. It is hot when the sun is out and damp when it rains. That cycle of heat and moisture splits the face and loosens the handle.

The second is a floor or an outside wall. Ground floors and outer walls hold damp through the rains. A bat standing on its toe in a corner pulls water up through the end grain, and the toe swells and cracks.

The third is a closed kit bag with wet pads, gloves and socks inside. The bag turns into a steam box overnight. Unpack after every session, even a short one.

Keep the bat away from bathrooms, water tanks and window sills as well.

Where to keep it instead

Keep the bat indoors, in a room you use, on a shelf or on top of a cupboard. Lay it flat or hang it by the handle. Do not stand it on the toe.

A room with a fan or some airflow is better than a closed store room. If the bat lives in a kit bag between sessions, drop two or three silica gel sachets into the side pocket and change them once a month.

Check the bat once a week. Look at the toe, run a hand down the face, and smell the grip. A musty smell is the first sign of mould.

If the bat gets wet

A session gets rained off, or the bag sits in a puddle. Wipe the bat dry with a cotton cloth straight away and take off the cover.

Lay it flat in a room at normal temperature and leave it for two days. Keep it out of the sun, away from a heater, and away from a hair dryer. Fast drying shrinks the outer wood quicker than the inside, and that is how cracks start.

Once it is dry, look at the toe. Slight swelling often settles on its own. A toe that stays soft and spongy needs attention before the bat is played again.

The grip and the handle

A rubber grip holds water against the handle. After a wet session, roll the grip back and let the handle dry, or fit a fresh grip at the end of the season. Changing a grip takes ten minutes with a grip cone. A loose handle takes a workshop.

Tap the toe gently on the floor and listen. If the handle clicks or moves, the glue in the splice may have softened. Stop using the bat until it has been looked at.

When to send it for repair

Fine surface lines on the edges are normal after a wet season and can be left alone once the bat is dry.

Send it for repair if the toe has split, the face shows a crack longer than about 5 cm, or the handle moves. Monsoon damage is easier to fix early, before the next season's knocks pull the crack wider. The bat repair service handles toe rebuilds, face cracks and handle work.

Cotton covers, raw linseed oil and bat care kits for the rains can be ordered online, COD or prepaid, from the accessories section.