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Red List Comment Submission

Commenting on: Cricket bat making

Section one - About you

Name *

Email *

What is your interest or experience in this craft? *

Practising craftsperson
Related guild or association
Historian or researcher
Support organisation or training provider
Other

Please give more details of your interest or experience of this craft and any organisations, guilds or associations that you are representing. *

Section two - Description of the craft

Are you commenting on an existing craft?

If you are commenting on an existing craft, please select it here and skip the next two questions

Are you sugesting a new craft that is not already featured on the Red List?

If so please enter the name of the craft here.

Craft category *

If this is a new craft type please select the most suitable category

Please give a definition of the craft in one or two sentences. *

Where in the world is the craft historically associated? *

Please identify country, region, county or town

Where in the UK is the craft currently practised? *

Please identify country, region, county or town

When was the craft first practised in the UK? *

Please identify an era/century/approximate historic period.

Does this craft have cultural significance to a particular community or group of people? *

This includes craft practices which are taking place in the UK at the present time and crafts which have originated outside the UK.

How endangered would you say this craft is? *

Heritage Crafts uses a system of four categories of risk to assess the viability of heritage crafts. A heritage craft is considered to be viable if there are sufficient craftspeople to transmit the craft skills to the next generation. For more information on definitions see http://heritagecrafts.org.uk/redlist/categories-of-risk/

Currently Viable (are in a healthy state and skills are being passed to the next generation)
Endangered (skills can be passed on but there are serious concerns about their ongoing viability)
Critically Endangered (there is serious risk that skills won't be passed on)
Extinct ( ‘extirpated’ or ‘locally extinct’ in the UK)

Section three - Current numbers of those practising the craft in the UK

Number of professional makers (main income) *

People earning their main craft income from this craft (selling, commissions, conservation/ restoration and/or teaching).

I don't know
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
201-500
500+

Is the number of professional makers based on an estimate or on evidence? *

Please give your sources of evidence e.g. sector knowledge, survey data etc.

Number of professional makers (part-time or side line to main income) *

People practicing this craft commercially (selling, commissions, conservation/restoration and/or teaching) but as less than half of their income.

I don't know
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
201-500
500+

Is the number of part-time professional makers based on an estimate or on evidence? *

Please give your sources of evidence e.g. sector knowledge, survey data etc

Number of trainees *

People acquiring skills in order to become a professional in this craft, they probably have to work under supervision even if they are earning money while training.

I don't know
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
201-500
500+

Is the number of trainees based on an estimate or on evidence? *

Please give your sources of evidence e.g. sector knowledge, survey data etc

Number of serious amateur makers *

People whose knowledge and ability is at a level of the most skilled practitioners of this craft.

I don't know
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
201-500
500+

Is the number of serious amateur based on an estimate or on evidence? *

Please give your sources of evidence e.g. sector knowledge, survey data etc

Number of UK leisure makers and learners *

People who do not intend to practice this craft professionally or at the highest level.

I don't know
1-5
6-10
11-20
21-50
51-100
201-500
500+

Is the number of leisure makers and learners based on an estimate or on evidence? *

Please give your sources of evidence e.g. sector knowledge, survey data etc

Section four - Issues affecting the viability of the craft

Training and recruitment issues

e.g. lack of qualifications, funding for training etc.

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Market issues

e.g. lack of demand for products/skills etc.

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Supply of raw materials, allied materials and tools

Tick the box if there are difficulties with the supply of raw materials, allied materials or tools

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Small business issues

i.e. issues around running any small business, not just crafts

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Ageing workforce

Is the main workforce made up of people who are approaching retirement age?

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Legislative issues

e.g. legal restrictions on materials, health and safety etc.

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Global and geopolitical issues

e.g. Brexit, Covid-19, conflict

Tick for yes

If yes, please describe the issues below

Are there any other issues facing the craft?

Please describe any other issues

<ul>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Brand versus manufacturer: </strong>While there are nearly fifty bat ‘brands’ claiming that their bats are made in the UK, there are only 12-13 genuine UK made brands. Many brands sell bats that have been made in India or Pakistan and only finished in the UK. Other people might buy-in parts and only finish the bats themselves. It is very difficult for the consumer to know which is which.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Market issues:</strong> There are a lot of small bat makers around the country, making 1,000-2,000 bats a year, but the bigger brands have been forced to outsource.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Market issues:</strong> There are not as many bat makers as there once were as most bats are now made in India and Pakistan due to the cheapness of labour abroad. While this is starting to level out, the disappearance of the skills in the UK means that the craft is unlikely to return to the UK.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Market issues:</strong> There isn’t the demand for bats that there once was, as the market is covered by imported bats and it is difficult for small makers in the UK to compete with that end of the market.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Market issues:</strong> It is very hard to make a living from bat making – to be a genuine bat maker you need to work full time and in some cases seven days a week during busy periods</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Marketing issues:</strong> Salespeople push bats from India. The players are also paid by the big companies and so smaller companies cannot afford the sponsorship for players to use their bats</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Supply of raw materials:</strong> Cricket bats can only be made from English cricket bat willow. There are only a few timber merchants dealing in willow and while there is enough, there isn’t an abundance as much of the willow is sent to India/Pakistan for bats to be made there.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Supply of raw materials:</strong> English cricket bat willow suffered from watermark disease in the 1990s. This was eradicated, but today there is a lot of storm damage to the willow. High winds cause the fibres to fracture, which causes the bats to snap – although this can usually be spotted in the making.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Cost of raw materials:</strong> The price of English willow is increasing every year.</div>
</li>
<li><strong>Supply of raw materials</strong>: It has been that demand is outstripping supply for the English willow used for cricket bat making. This has been referred to as the &#8216;cricket bat emergency&#8217; and has led to conversations about the future supply of timber (see references below).</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Supply of equipment:</strong> Cost of machinery and the infrastructure needed to store it. Some manufacturers do the pressing for smaller makers as they require specialist machinery.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Ageing workforce:</strong> Many of the existing makers are getting older – almost all are 40+. There are hardly any apprentices/junior bat makers learning the trade.</div>
</li>
<li class="level1">
<div class="li"><strong>Overseas competition:</strong> Labour costs in India and Pakistan, where most bats are made, is significantly cheaper than in the UK.</div>
</li>
</ul>

Section five - Current Initiatives to preserve craft skills

Are there any UK projects or schemes happening to help preserve these skills?

Please describe any UK projects or schemes

Section six - Main players in the craft – please tell us who you know about

Please list as many UK individual makers as you are able, particularly if there are very few remaining practitioners.

Please list as many UK crafts businesses that employ two or more makers as you are able, particularly if there are very few remaining businesses.

Please list any support organisations involved in supporting/promoting the craft, e.g. the Basketmakers’ Association, Embroiderers’ Guild etc.

Please list any training providers that you know of. This could include formal and informal training routes.

Section seven - Optional additional information

Please give an overview of the history of this craft

It may include when and where the craft developed, how it has changed over time, etc.

Is this craft associated with any other cultural practices?

e.g. festivals, religious celebrations, agricultural practices, music, dance etc.

Is this craft associated with any specific communities?

e.g. religious, ethnic, social class. Please give an overview of the techniques involved in the craft.

Please give an overview of the techniques involved in the craft.

Please list any sub-crafts which fall under this craft and which you think should be noted, especially if there are very few practitioners.

Please describe any local forms/variations of the craft

This may involve different materials, techniques, styles or finished products.

Please provide any further information about this craft.

Please list any references or sources of information on this craft

e.g. books, websites etc.

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