Cricket kit bulk order for an academy: sizes, one sheet, lead time

How a cricket kit bulk order for an academy works

For a cricket kit bulk order, academy coaches get the best result when every size is settled before the quote is asked for. Most delays come from one wrong pad size or a missing glove count. They rarely come from stock.

Our advice is simple. Measure every child, put every size on one sheet, and send that sheet with your request. The quote then comes back line by line, at MRP, with a dispatch date.

Split the order into two parts. Personal kit goes to one child: bat, pads, gloves, thigh guard, helmet and bag. Shared kit stays at the academy: balls, stumps, nets and keeping gear. Size the first part by child and the second part by group.

Bat sizes per age group

Size a bat by height, not by age alone. Stand the bat upright beside the child's leg. The top of the handle should reach the top of the thigh, just below the hip. If it sits higher, the bat is too long.

As a guide, a Size 3 suits most children aged 6 to 7. Size 4 suits ages 8 to 9, Size 5 ages 9 to 10 and Size 6 ages 10 to 11. A Harrow bat suits most 12 and 13 year olds. From about 14, or 165 cm tall, most players move to a full-size short handle.

Weight matters as much as length. Ask the child to hold the bat out straight in the top hand for a slow count of ten. If the blade drops, go one size down or pick a lighter bat.

For every group up to under-13, pick Kashmir willow. It is tough, it needs little knocking in, and it stands up to a season of net sessions. The junior bats in the youth cricket equipment range are listed by size number, so the sheet maps straight onto the order. Move selected players to English willow from the Harrow size up.

Pads, gloves and helmets by age

Fit pads by leg length. Measure from the middle of the kneecap to the top of the foot, with the child standing. The knee roll should sit on the kneecap and the pad should end at the top of the shoe. Write that measure in centimetres on the sheet.

Fit gloves by hand length. Measure from the crease of the wrist to the tip of the middle finger. The fingers should reach the ends of the glove without pressing on them.

Fit helmets by head size. Wrap a tape around the head, just above the eyebrows, and write it to the nearest centimetre. Give every child who faces a hard ball their own helmet. A shared helmet fits nobody well.

Order the size that fits now, not one to grow into. Loose pads slip and loose gloves turn in the hand. Add a thigh guard from about age 10, when most groups start with a leather ball.

Balls by age group

Match the ball to the age group, not to the oldest child in the net. Use a soft synthetic ball or a wind ball for under-9s. Use a 4.75 oz leather ball for under-11 and under-13 groups. Move to the full 5.5 oz ball from under-15.

Buy balls by the group, not by the child. A fair start is one dozen per net lane for the first month, then a top-up count from what the coaches have lost or split. Put this on the shared-kit block of the sheet, not on each child's row.

The one spreadsheet

Keep one sheet with one tab, and give it one owner. That is usually the head coach or the club secretary. Parents send measures to that person, and that person checks them in one session at the ground.

Use one row per child. The columns are the child's name, age group, height in cm, bat size, pad measure, glove measure, helmet measure in cm, batting hand and a notes column. Add a bag column too. A duffle suits most under-11s, and a wheelie bag suits players from the Harrow size up. The duffle and wheelie styles sit together in the kit bags range.

Below the last child, add a totals row. Count each bat size, each pad size and each glove size. Then add a short shared-kit block: balls by type, stumps, keeping gloves and keeping pads.

Send the sheet itself, not a photo of it. A sheet can be sorted and checked. A photo has to be typed out again, and that is where mistakes come in.

Lead time: count back from the first session

Plan for at least four weeks between sending the sheet and handing out kit. Measure children in week one, check the sheet in week two, and send it the same week. That leaves room for one round of questions on the quote.

Leave six weeks if any bat carries the academy's stickers or a custom handle. Leave a week more around festival season, when couriers run slow. Ask for the dispatch date in writing on the quote, and plan the first session after it.

When the boxes arrive

Check every carton against the sheet on the day it arrives, before a single item is handed out. Tick each line by size and count. Then write each child's name on the bat's back, the pads' straps and the gloves' cuffs.

If a size is wrong, keep the item unused with its tags on and report it within the return window on your order. Keep the quote, the sheet and the delivery slip together in one folder until the season starts.

Send your finished sheet with a bulk and team order request and the quote comes back sized child by child.