GRAY-NICOLLS Sports

GRAY-NICOLLS started making bats in Melbourne, Australia in 1972, as an extension of a long history dating back to 1876 in Robertsbridge, UK, and we proudly celebrate the remarkable milestone of 50 years of Australian production in 2022.

Refining techniques first employed over 146 years ago, GRAY-NICOLLS is perhaps now regarded as the home of the world’s best bats. This is a result of only using the best quality English willow and taking great pride in ensuring every bat is made to the highest standard, striving to ensure their bats have the best rebound and power, to go that bit further over the boundary.

Our 50 years of Australian bat production has seen some revolutionary ideas and bat shaping concepts brought to life:

Timeline
1972 GRAY-NICOLLS bat making factory was established in Mordialloc, Victoria.

1977 The revolutionary Scoop was introduced and was the choice of Greg and Ian Chappell. The Scoop evokes a sense of nostalgia with it being the first bat of many young cricketers of the day.

1980s During the early 80s the Scoop evolved into the Twin Scoop, as used by David Hookes, and eventually into the Pro Balance Four Scoop.

1988 The Powerspot, as used by Michael Slater, and Powerspot Giant were popular choices during the late 80s.

1990s The Ultimate, which featured hollow core technology, was released and used by legend David Boon.

1995 GRAY-NICOLLS relocated to new, bigger premises in Keysborough, Victoria.
Powerspot was reinvigorated and redesigned and had further success out in the middle, again in the hands of Michael Slater.

1990s GRAY-NICOLLS had been developing and trialling new pressing techniques which resulted in a new unique bowed shape. This innovation was introduced on the Gladius which was crucial to Matthew Hayden’s
record breaking 380 runs, and also used to great success by Andrew Symonds on the Longbow.

2003 GRAY-NICOLLS relocates again to bigger premises in Cheltenham, Victoria, with a new state of the art, purpose designed and built bat mill.

2005 Fusion hit the world stage in the hands of Matthew Hayden. The lightweight carbon fibre handle was a hit but the MCC deemed it too powerful as they couldn’t make Lords any bigger.

2009 Ignite was released - a very low bow plus a new Anti-Torque handle combined to be the perfect mix to add fuel to the fire in the modern player’s game. the choice of international cricketers Andrew Symonds,
Andrew Strauss and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

2011 The first bat to expand beyond the standard 30-34mm edges was the E41 with its impressive 41mm edges which provided a huge profile while still being lightweight. This Australian innovation also incorporated
the ACCU-DRIVE flat face which was developed to enhance rebound and control.

2015 Making its debut on the Omega, the more rounded POWERCURVE face, which enhances the feel of stroke play, was developed.

The ability to produce our own oversize clefts resulted in the development of the KABOOM! At its peak in 2015 the KABOOM! featured up to 50mm edges, the biggest in the game. The MCC saw this as an unfair advantage and soon introduced bat size laws with which manufacturers must now comply.

2016 Continually seeking to push the boundaries of bat making saw the release of a range of bats not for the faint of heart; the 50 Plus – a bat hand crafted from XL grade 1 English willow unique to GRAY-NICOLLS,
with a guaranteed minimum 50mm edge as well as the XP70 & XP80 which featured 70mm and 80mm spines respectively.

2022 Proudly celebrating 50 years of bat production in Australia plus the introduction of our latest innovation PLAY NOW – bats which have been pre-prepared (pressed, oiled and hand knocked in) and are sent to
stores ready to be used straight off the shelf.

GRAY-NICOLLS continue striving for excellence, and endeavour to develop industry leading innovations to revolutionise the equipment crafted for a game loved across the world, for generations.