Extracts are produced below, with thanks to its compiler ganesh1947@bigmailbox.net

Any tips for buying my bat?

Donald Rose:-

There are very few differences between bats other than labels and some grooves cut into them for marketing purposes. County make the best raw clefts (the chunks of wood the bats are carved from) because they steam press theirs to a harder state than the others. Having said all that, I recommend that you completely ignore the label.

Here is what to do:

• Go to a reputable cricket store.
• Select a bat which is either lacquered or have one of the new plastic bat sleeve put over the front of the blade.
• Get the lightest bat available in senior SH models. A large man can use a light bat as well as a small one but very few cricketers of any size shape or standard can effectively use a heavier bat.
• Buy 3 additional grips and a grip applicator cone and have someone at the shop or the local cricket club show you how to use it.
• If you buy a lacquered bat or get the plastic sleeve your bat will not require much knocking in. However if the bat is not lacquered, you will either have to soak the toe in a saucer of linseed oil for an hour or so, or get some Estapol or Bat Lacquer and lacquer the toe (and only the toe).

The basic idea is to avoid splinters and bits breaking off the edges by gently tapping the bat with a mallet. Really need advice on knocking? Then read on. Otherwise skip the following excellent advice.

Cameron Fraser :-

When you buy a bat, it is only lightly pressed at the factory and the fibres are still really soft - if you press your fingernail into the surface you'll see what I mean. 'Knocking in' is the process of compressing and binding these lose fibres together to allow the bat to withstand the constant impact from the ball. You're preparing the bat to be HIT.Your aim is to 'bash' the surface of the blade - not the back or the bottom of the bat (that can be disastrous!) You can use an OLD, GOOD QUALITY ball in your hand or put it in a sock or try different types of 'knocking in' mallets - my preference is for the solid wood version. Any good shop or mail order company does them for around a fiver - buy one, you'll need to make use of it many times.

Start 'knocking in' by gently working on the edges and gradually knocking them into a rounded, compressed shape ... once you get started you'll soon see the change in texture. Then keep working on the edges and the area around the toe of the bat - not the bottom of the bat - and think of trying to use glancing strokes that resemble you edging a ball to gully, then 3rd slip, 2nd slip, etc. while all the time gradually increasing the strength of the impact.Don't forget to give the middle a good going over but the priority should be the outside inch or so of the bat round both edges and the toe.

How long do you have to go through this mind numbingly boring routine? Slazenger recommend 6 hours - now that is a long, long time. If you try to do it in good 5 minute blocks it becomes more manageable. Essentially you don't want to think about using the bat until it's had at least 2 hours(24 x 5 minute sessions) but ideally if you can manage double that then all the better. If you have the time and space and tolerant neighbours then the process can be done in a week or so - most of us need a bit longer! But there's no point going to the other extreme - buying a bat one season and not using it until the next. Anyway, such self-denial would be way beyond the likes of me or most cricketers I know! So use the bat but be sensible.

After the initial 2-4 hours 'knocking in,' try using it for hitting short catches and then in the nets against OLD, GOOD QUALITY balls and only against the spinners/ slow mediums first. A new or cheap ball can do a lot of damage to an under-prepared bat and digging out a fast yorker in the nets can spell doom and destruction for even the best prepared bat! So try and middle the ball and play the bat in - resist the wild slogging for once! Then do some more 'knocking in' and then some more and then some more and then some more...

Remember, SOME bats need a LITTLE linseed oil - but no more than a couple of teaspoonfuls per season! However, ALL BATS NEED KNOCKING IN. Gunn & Moore now provide this service for around 10 pounds in their GM NOW range. For most people that's £10 well spent. But don't forget you'll still need to keep 'knocking in' throughout the life of your bat, knocking out indentations, evening out dead spots in the bat, strengthening area around glued repairs etc. A cricket dealer I know recommends that the day you stop 'knocking in' is the day you throw the bat in the bin.

I have a problem with water seeping into the bat.

Matthew van de Werken:-

Probably the most common place for the moisture to seep in is through the toe. A popular remedy for this is to cover the toe with "Shoo-Goo", which is a silicon-like substance that dries hard (like a tennis-shoe sole). It's designed for replacing holes in soles of shoes, hence the name, but it works really well on the toe of a bat. The only caveat I have for its use is that it makes the toe of the bat a bit grippy, so you can be running, sliding the bat, and it grips and stops, which is not desirable!

The rubber grip on my handle keeps sliding up

david lawton:-

Use a second grip. The other thing is to take the grip off and wind some tape onto the handle, overlapping it so that the ridges are going up. The only problem is that it might change the way the bat feels in your hand.

How do I put the grip on the bat?

Ian Didds:-

PROPER sports shops to put them on for a small charge using a sort of cone. You may be lucky similarly. Other-wise roll the rubber up into a doughnut and then FORCE the rubber over the end. Once you've actually got the rubber over the end of the handle you just unroll the rubber along the length of the handle and smooth it down. It works well, especially with a twisting motion with both hands using downward pressure towards the bottom of the handle.