ENGLISH WILLOW VS KASHMIR WILLOW
English Willow vs Kashmir Willow bat: Which one is better for me?
You must have encountered this dilemma if you have played cricket for any significant amount of time. Let's answer this question once and for all.
There are 3 types of woods that are used in making cricket bats all over the world –
1. ENGLISH WILLOW
2. KASHMIR WILLOW
3. POPULAR WILLOW
The Popular willows are used in making cricket bats for use only against tennis/plastic balls. English Willow and Kashmir Willow are used for making cricket bats for use against leather cricket balls. To understand the difference between the two, let us first get to know them better.
Both willows are obtained from the same tree, SALIX ALBA var. CAERULEA. YES!!! You read it right. In fact, this tree is found in many parts of the world, especially in cold weather regions such as Canada, UK, Kashmir, Europe, Russia, Pakistan. But due to the differences in other physical factors such as the amount of rainfall, climatic changes, soil nutrients, and moisture content, the physical properties of this tree vary from region to region. Salix Alba Caerulea grown in England (not the entire UK) and Kashmir are most conducive for making cricket bats. Their strength, density, rebound quality, and moisture content make them fit for impact against leather cricket balls. Now, let’s know the differences between these two varieties and how they affect the choice of cricketing fraternity around the globe –
1. AESTHETICS
The aesthetics of English willow bats and Kashmir willow bats differ in the following aspects :
a. Grain Profile – Grains are thin Reddish-brown/black lines found on the surface of cricket bats. The grains of English willow cricket bats are more prominent than the grains of Kashmir Willow cricket bats. It means that they are more clearly visible on English willow bats than on Kashmir Willow bats. They may even be absent on lower grade Kashmir willow bats. The difference in the number of grains is not so prominent though. We can have a broad 4-5 grains bat and a narrow 15 grains bat in both kinds of willows.
AND THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL !!
Top 5% of high-grade Kashmir willows may have similar grain profile to lower grade English willows. The difference in their visibility will be there 99% of the times. Grains in English willows are almost always darker than in Kashmir Willows. This is one of the most important things to consider to spot the difference between the two. Some unethical sellers sell these top-grade Kashmir Willows under English Willow tag with duplicate stickers of big brands. This dark industry is rampant in both, Meerut and Jalandhar, the two cricket bat manufacturing hubs of the world. The tips to consider to save yourself from such unethical frauds will be discussed in another blog post.
b. Color – English Willows are generally whiter than Kashmir Willows. Though both willows may be double shaded, the white part of English willows will be whiter than the white part of Kashmir willows. This is why an English willow bat looks shinier after finishing as compared to a Kashmir willow bat. Kashmir willow bats look somewhat dull as compared to English Willow bats. Though the color of lower grade English willow bats may be similar to Kashmir willow bats.1
c. Fiber Orientation – The orientation of fibers in Kashmir Willows are predominantly horizontal while that of English willows are predominantly vertical. This is one of the reasons that the grains of Kashmir Willow is less visible. The fibers intersect the grain, thereby, making it less visible. Although, fibers in a few low-grade English willows may show horizontal orientation and vice-versa. But, this is an uncommon phenomenon with less than 10% of English willows showing such similarity to Kashmir willows. It may happen in lowest grade dual-shaded English willows, especially in the red part of such cleft. Exceptional cases may appear as wood is a natural product and both willows are similar on the sub-species level.
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