New Balance DC 500 Junior Cricket Bat 2025 – English Willow Junior Cricket Bat

• Willow: Selected Fibre English J5 Willow
• Face Protection: Grainface / fibre protection on front
• Player Type: Junior batters, developing stroke-makers, school players and club cricketers
• Profile: New Balance DC junior profile with low hitting area
• Sweet Spot: Low
• Handle: Semi-oval cane handle
• Pickup: Well weighted with outstanding pickup
• Grip: White New Balance grip with NB logo print where supplied
• Finish: English willow blade with fibre / grainface protection
• Preparation: Pre-prepared; further knocking-in recommended before match use
• Size: Junior sizes depending on selected stock range
• Use: Junior hard-ball cricket, school cricket, club cricket, training, net sessions and match play
• Benefit: English willow performance with fibre protection, low sweet spot and junior-friendly pickup
• Suitable For: Developing junior cricketers wanting an English willow DC-profile cricket bat

• Selected fibre-protected English willow provides a practical combination of performance and blade protection
• Low sweet spot is particularly suited to attacking front-foot stroke play
• Popular New Balance DC profile is designed for developing stroke-makers
• Semi-oval cane handle helps provide stability, comfort and control through the shot
• Well-weighted construction provides a comfortable and manageable pickup for junior players
• Grainface protection helps protect the front surface of the English willow blade
• New Balance logo grip provides a secure and comfortable feel in the hands where supplied
• Pre-prepared construction reduces initial preparation, although further knocking-in is recommended
• Strong value English willow option for young players progressing beyond entry-level cricket bats
• Suitable for regular junior hard-ball cricket including school, club, training and match play

• Junior cricketers
• School cricket players
• Junior club cricketers
• Developing hard-ball players
• Attacking batters
• Front-foot stroke-makers
• Players who prefer a low sweet spot
• Players wanting a well-balanced junior bat
• Junior players progressing into English willow cricket bats
• Training, net sessions and competitive match play

• The bat is listed as pre-prepared, but further knocking-in is recommended before competitive match use.
• A fibre or grainface-covered English willow bat may still require preparation around the edges and toe before facing a new leather cricket ball.
• Carefully prepare exposed areas and gradually increase impact during the knocking-in process.
• Begin with throwdowns or controlled net sessions using an older cricket ball before progressing to competitive match use.
• Check the fibre covering regularly for lifting, seam marks, surface damage or edge cracking so minor issues can be addressed early.
• Protect the toe from excessive moisture and avoid leaving the bat on wet ground.
• Store the bat in a cool, dry place and avoid excessive moisture, extreme heat and prolonged direct sunlight.

Things to Look for in Cricket Bats:

Every cricketer has a different option when buying a new cricket bat. The choices are but not limited to

• The size of Cricket Bat - Long blade or Short or Kids,
• Grade of the willow used to make the cricket bat.
• Number of Grains on the cricket bat is another option that some are interested in. The number of grains a cricket bat has can range from about 5 grains to about 15 grains.
• Weight of Cricket Bat.

1. Size of Cricket Bat & Handle:

Most Adult batsman use Short Handle (SH) size of cricket bat but if your height is above 6’1”, then we recommend for you to check out the long handles as an option, although it is a personal choice of the batsman to select size of the handle. For Junior cricketers the bats range from size 1 (smallest) and the largest one is 6 with Small Mens, Youth and Harrow in between Adult and Juniors.

2. Cricket Bat Willow Quality: 

Crickets bats are a natural wooden material thus all have different bat characteristics right from balance of the bat, bat pickup and the number of grains and width of grain. As a rule of thumb,

• The softer (narrow grain) willow has excellent performance qualities but shorter lifespan

• The harder (broader grain) willow tends to last longer but takes time before you get optimum performance from it.

• All bats are graded on performance and made from a natural material so the grain structure can vary.

Players Grade Willow - This is the best willow that money can buy. The blade is unbleached and usually has 8-12 blemish free straight grains to a large extent. 

Grade 1 willow - High quality unbleached English willow. As above but with a slightly broader grain and sometimes a slight red edge. 

Grade 2 willow - Unbleached English willow with some minor blemishes, red wood on the edge and a slight irregular grain. 

Grade 3 willow - Some of these bats will be bleached English willow to cover up a more irregular grain and more blemishes. 

Grade 4 willow - This will be bleached English willow which is often covered up with a protective facing and sold as "non oil". 

Kashmir willow - Found in cricket sets and junior bats. Kashmir willow is harder and dryer by nature than English willow, so doesn't perform as well or last as long. This bat is ideal as a starter bat for use against a softer safety ball (Incrediballs, Wonderballs, e.t.c)

Guide To Buy Cricket Bat: Grains Number

Cricket bat that is mainly manufactured by using high-quality English willow usually will have grains of 6 to 12. The lower the grain the swifter your bat will be, although it increases the time taken by the bat to reach the ultimate performance to knock the ball.

3. Sweet Spot, Shape and Pick Up:

There are a few other different factors which need to kept in mind before choosing any cricket bat.. 

• Sweet Spot

The sweet spot or middle is generally the cricket bat area that falls between 7 to 10 inches from the toe. It is part of the cricket bat from where players can hit the ball to the maximum distance. 

The modern bats have larger sweet spots packed densely with wood. Nevertheless, some bats have a greater sweet spot surface area than others.

HIGH Sweet Spot - Suitable for players who like to play horizontal bat shots, cuts and pull shots. Lighter pick-up.

MEDIUM Sweet Spots - Suitable for players who like to play off the center of the bat. This accounts for 80-90% of batsmen.

LOW Sweet Spots - Suitable for players who like to hit straight. Preference to play ground strokes and off the front foot.

• Curve (Shape)

You might have noticed a curve in a cricket bat. That curve has many functions, including balancing the bat, adding finesse to various shots, and enlarging the sweet spot. 

One of the curve's most critical functions is to make playing some of the shots more comfortable to play. It allows players to play shots at angles that would have been impossible otherwise to play. 

Another important reason for having a curve is that it increases the bat's sweet spot area without increasing the bat's weight. The combination of weight distribution and curve gives the bat what we call the middle or the sweet spot, so there will be no definite middle without curvature. That’s why you won’t find bats without curves in international cricket.

You can imagine what you might be missing if the bat has less curvature or no curvature at all. If the bat has the same thickness throughout the length, there are chances fast pace deliveries might break it, like in the bats' toes. When a quick ball hits the toe of the bat, it cannot tolerate the ball’s kinetic energy because it contains less wood. 

Hence, the toes are easily breakable, and no surprise, they don't play any role in shot-making. 

The weight of the cricket bat is an essential factor that has enabled power hitting. It directly affects the six-hitting ability of the bat. 

The heavier the bat, the longer the ball will go after connecting a hit. And modern players love playing with heavier bats. Hence, they hit more sixes than previous generations. 

However, playing with a heavy bat has disadvantages too. It isn’t easy to middle balls with heavier bats as the efforts required to move the bat increases with the weight.

As a guide a light bat will weigh between 2lb 6oz and 2lb 9oz, a medium bat will weigh 2lb 9oz to 2lb 11oz and a heavy bat between 2lb 11oz and 3lb. 

4. Toe Guard:

The weakest part of a bat is its toe, so a toe guard needs to be applied to protect that part of the bat. In most of the cases that part of the bat is damaged by Yorker while playing cricket. Even it could split the bat into two pieces if you haven’t provided a toe guard to protect it. In cricket the bat needs to be a tap in the ground, so by applying the toe guard, we can reduce the shock provided to the bat.