ENGLISH WILLOW
CHASE BAT GRADING
Chase cricket bats are exclusively made from English willow trees sourced from J.S Wrights.
They are the world’s top willow merchants and have tree plantations throughout southern England.
The willow is graded by quality on a scale of Grade 1 to Grade 4, with Grade 1 being the highest quality. Higher quality willow generally has straighter grains, more consistent colour, and few-to-no imperfections.
OUR GRADES
GRADE 1 LIMITED EDITION ENGLISH WILLOW – G1 TOP 1%
The top 1% of English Willow representing some of the rarest and finest wood available. This is characterised by straight, even grains and no blemishes to the bat face. These bats look beautiful and are limited in availability.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | LIMITED EDITION
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GRADE 1 PREMIUM ENGLISH WILLOW – G1 TOP 4 %
The top 4% of English Willow. As above but with slightly less grains.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | PRO EDITION
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GRADE 1 ENGLISH WILLOW – G1
Characterised by good, straight grain structure. These bats have minimal markings/discolouration on the bat face.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | ELITE
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GRADE 2 ENGLISH WILLOW – G2
The cricket bats may have some irregular grain patterns or slight blemishes across the bat blade, but these won’t affect the performance of the bat.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | PLAYER
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GRADE 3 ENGLISH WILLOW – G3
These bats will have a definite and irregular grain pattern and cosmetic blemishes.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | SELECT
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GRADE 4 ENGLISH WILLOW – G4
These bats will have some imperfections including knots and small butterfly stains.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | RESERVE
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GRADE 4 BUTTERFLY ENGLISH WILLOW – G4
These bats will have imperfections including knots and butterfly stains.
CHASE CRICKET BAT | BUTTERFLY
Are the number of grains important?
The number of grains in a cricket bat reflects the age of the English willow tree. The higher grade willow tends to come from the older willow trees. The demand for cricket bats has increased dramatically, therefore so has demand for the willow tree. The impact being more cricket bat clefts will need to come from younger willow trees. The knock-on effect is that cricket bats will have fewer grains.
This will not have an impact on performance levels.
Straight grains are highly sought after because they make a beautiful cricket bat. Cricket bats with more grains tend to perform better initially but may not last as long. Younger English willow that has fewer grains may need more time to reach this same peak performance level, however they tend to have a longer life span.