As usual and as expected of a GM bat, first of all the finish is excellent. Second to none in my opinion, the finish on any senior GM bat is truely world class. I have owned several GM bats in the past, however I will have to think twice about another one in the future.
Now, I was very excited to get my hands on one of the new Chroma bats, because let's be honest, it's virtually the same profile that Ben Stokes and Dawid Malan use (just with smaller specs/lower quality wood) so I thought it presented excellent value for money. And, while that is pretty much the case, I can't help but be a little bit let down by the specs of the bat I received, and the performance overall. At 2'9 and "original" grade, I was expecting quite a good piece of willow, and I guess? that's what I got. 12/13 straight-ish grains, strip of heartwood on the inside edge, however quite a few specs on the playing area and a very large knot on the back of the bat (like the size of the palm of my hand). So, not the prettiest bat I've seen, but I'm more focused on performance anyway. The batmaker graded it a pickup index of 2, and, I probably would have given it a 3 myself. It feels it's weight, 2'9 bang on to me. But well balanced, not bottom heavy or anything like that.
Now the specs, the largest edge size I could measure was 33.5mm, and the spine height is 54mm. Colour me unimpressed. No where near the spine height I was expecting, so to be honest when I first saw the thing I thought maybe it had been miss-graded. Definitely not a low density piece. GM's own website quotes the max spine height over 60mm, so to be over 10% under that is pretty disappointing. On to performance.
It's obvious from the side profile this bat isn't meant to be used to dig out yorkers or hit helicopter shots over the bowlers head, but with a 14mm toe (at the widest point!) I have serious doubt's as to this bats longevity. The bottom 200mm of the bat is completely dead, no response at all. While I don't mind a mid-high middle, this middle is surprisingly condensed to the mid part of the blade. It does ping quite well in said middle, but up higher the response also drops off pretty fast. I would say you have a 60-80mm long sweet spot starting from 220mm up from the toe. It's reasonably wide due to the full back profile.
Now, paying over 300 pounds for this bat, what do I think overall? Unfortunately, I think it's just ok. The bat I got might not be the best one out of the factory, might have been a miss-grade who knows. But even if I had got one with better specs, this is probably a bat that is suitable for someone batting in the top 4 of a line-up. If you are coming in 5 or lower, chances are the powerplays are over, and the bowlers are going to be bowling a fuller length with protection in the deep. I think you'd find it hard to hit anything up there past the 30 yard circle to be honest. But if you are playing against good fast bowlers on a bouncy track, this might be the bat for you.
Review by Dave /
(Posted on 15/05/2021)
