How to Oil a Cricket Bat – The Ultimate Guide

If you are wondering how to oil a cricket bat then you have arrived at the right place.

Just like almost everything else you own, cricket bats need some maintenance from time to time too. You need to be well-acquainted with a few basic skills in order to keep your bat in a top-notch condition and oiling it is one of them. 

Every time a new cricket bat is purchased, it needs to be knocked in before use. But before it is knocked, oiling is the first step. In this guide, we focus on how you can oil your cricket bat to get the most out of it.

Why does a cricket bat need oiling?

Before we move on to how to oil a cricket bat, this is an important question to answer. 

When you spend long hours out in the sun playing, the bat is directly exposed to the sunlight for a long time. Over time, this can dry out the cricket bat. A drier bat is more prone to getting cracked.

So, basically, what oiling does is that it retains moisture and prevents the bat from cracking or splitting. In the longer run, this ensures that your bat is protected and does not wear out soon.

Hence, oiling is an essential step that you absolutely must not miss out on.

Which oil is used for a cricket bat?

Before you move on to oiling your cricket bat, getting your hands on the right kind of oil is the first step. The oil that is used for this purpose is ‘raw linseed oil’. Make sure that you only use this oil and not any other oil that you can get your hands on.

Linseed oil is commonly used on wood products and it helps keep the bat strong by binding its fibres together.

Linseed oil is also commonly found in cricket specialist stores as ‘bat’ oil. So, you can either directly get linseed oil or bat oil. 

When does a bat need oiling?

It goes without saying that a cricket bat must be oiled before it is knocked. In fact, oiling is the first step of knocking. However, you also need to oil your bat once a year apart from that.

As long as you keep your bat well-maintained throughout the year, oiling it once a season should be enough. However, if you find your bat to be very dry in-between, it can be oiled in such cases.

This is an important question you should know the answer to before you know how to oil a bat.

How much oil to use while oiling a cricket bat?

While oiling is important, using too much oil is certainly not. Excessive oil and oiling can damage the bat and lower its performance and hence, just the appropriate amount needs to be used. 

The right quantity here would be 1 to 2 tablespoons of linseed oil. Yes, that is just how much you need to oil a cricket bat.

How to Oil a Cricket Bat

To oil your bat, you can either use an old rag or even your fingers work just fine. And then, here is how you should oil the bat:

• Remove any protective scuff sheets that may be present on the cricket bat. You may also need to clean the surface of the bat using sandpaper to make sure that there is no leftover debris or dirt. Once the bat is clean, you can begin the process of oiling.
• Take approximately 2 tablespoons of oil and pour it on the face of the bat. 
• Then, use either your fingers or a soft old rag to spread the oil onto the bat.
• Spread the oil evenly on the bat so that each area is well coated. However, make sure that you don’t oil the splice of the bat. Only the face, the edges, and the heel of the bat should be covered with oil. You need not cover the entire back of the bat with out. You just need to apply oil about 4 cm from the edges of the back of your cricket bat. 
• When the appropriate areas of the bat are well-coated with oil, your work is done. But do ensure that you do not use any excessive oil and use just the right amount.
• After your bat is oiled, you can leave it to dry for about 24 hours. Lay the bat down with its face upwards in order to dry it. Put a sheet or something else underneath the bat so that the oil can drain off.
• After the bat dries 24 hours later, you can repeat the process of oiling again. You can continue the process of oiling the bat for about 3 days or until the bat stops soaking up any more oil. Check the oil on the bat and continue the process accordingly.
• In case there is any extra oil on the bat, you can wipe it off using a cloth.

After this oiling process, your bat is finally ready for knocking in.

How to know whether the oiling process is complete or bat is well-oiled?

After knowing how to oil a cricket bat, it is also important to know whether it is well-oiled. Basically, you need to repeat the process of oiling until your bat absorbs the oil. After letting your bat dry once it is oiled, you can dab your finger on it to check whether it is well-oiled. This will give you an idea of how well the bat is oiled and if it needs any more oiling.

There shouldn’t be any excess oil on your finger and in case there is any, you should wipe it off.

A well-oiled bat lays the foundation for a long-lasting bat and ultimately, a good game of cricket. Hence, it is crucial that you perform this step with utmost care. We hope that this detailed guide gave you an idea of how to oil a cricket bat.

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