Cricket Bat Sales in the UK: When Prices Drop and What to Buy

Cricket bat prices in the UK drop at three points in the year: at the end of the English season in late summer, when the makers launch next year's range in the autumn, and over Black Friday and the Christmas sales. The biggest saving is the same at every one of them, which is last season's model. A bat dated a year earlier is usually the same shape in the same willow grade for less money. This guide explains when the prices move, how to read a sale price, and which older bats on our shelf are the best buys.

When Cricket Bat Prices Drop

• End of season, August and September: demand falls once the club season ends, and the makers clear stock. Gray-Nicolls opened its own end-of-season sale on 4 September 2026 at 20% off its recommended prices, including its Havoc and Imperia Players Edition bats.
• New range launch, October and November: bats are sold under the year of the season they are made for, and that range goes on sale the autumn before. Gray-Nicolls revealed its 2026 range on 12 November 2025, and in October 2026 it said it was preparing its 2027 collection. Once the new year's bats arrive, the old year's are the ones that come down.
• Black Friday and Christmas: Black Friday falls on 27 November in 2026, and Boxing Day is Saturday 26 December, with the bank holiday on Monday 28 December.

Why Last Season's Bat Is Cheaper

The year in a bat's name is its range year, not its age as a piece of willow. A 2025 Kahuna 4.1 and a 2026 Kahuna 4.1 Hero are cut from the same grade of willow to a near-identical profile; what changes between years is usually the stickers, a detail of the shape, and the price. Here is how that looked on our shelf on 2 November 2026:

That is £45 to £80 saved for the same grade. It does not hold for every bat: the 2026 SG HP was cheaper than the 2025 one on the same day, so compare the two years rather than assuming. Of the senior bats on our shelf with a year in the name, 130 were 2026 models and 133 were from 2023 to 2025.

How to Read a Sale Price

A sale price is only as good as the price it is compared with. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, in force for these practices since 6 April 2025, a "was" price has to be a genuine price the seller actually charged, and the Trading Standards guidance on pricing says a price charged many months ago, or for a much shorter time than the sale has run, is less likely to be fair. Three checks before you buy:

1. Find the year: make sure you are comparing the same model and the same year. A "reduced" 2024 bat set against the 2026 price is not a like-for-like saving.
2. Find the grade: a cheap top-brand bat is often a low grade or a Kashmir-backed bat. Our guide to willow grades explains what each step buys.
3. Find the weight: clearance stock is often the weights nobody else wanted. A bargain in 2lb 13oz is no bargain if you play best with 2lb 8oz.

Why Bats Are Getting Dearer

Sales matter more than they did, because English willow is getting dearer. The BBC reported in February 2026 that bat prices are thought to have trebled with demand from South Asia, with some top-end bats close to £1,000. In October 2026 the Chelmsford willow grower JS Wright and Sons told the BBC that around 75% of its products go to India and Pakistan, and a willow takes 15 to 20 years to mature. The MCC's answer is in the 2026 Laws, which from October 2026 allow laminated bats in open-age recreational cricket to slow the rising cost; our page on laminated cricket bats covers where they are legal.

What to Buy in a Sale

1. A higher grade than you would pay full price for: the end-of-range saving is largest in cash terms on the better willow, such as the 2024 Rapid 1.1 at £434.99 or the 2024 Aura 2.1 at £339.99.
2. A second bat for nets: an older mid-grade bat such as the 2024 Kahuna 4.1 at £194.99 takes the wear off your match bat.
3. Next season's junior bat: buy a size up only if the child is close to it now. Our cricket bat size guide has the heights, and our junior cricket bats collection lists every size we stock.

Buying in autumn has one more advantage: the winter gives you time to knock the bat in properly before April. Our guide to knocking in a new cricket bat covers how. For what a sensible budget looks like at each level, see how much to spend on a cricket bat, and for the lowest prices on the shelf, our cheap cricket bats collection.

FAQs: Cricket Bat Sales

When do cricket bats go on sale in the UK?
At the end of the season in August and September, when the next year's range arrives in October and November, and over Black Friday and Christmas.

Is last year's cricket bat model worse?
Usually not. The willow grade and the profile are normally the same or very close, and the older year is often £45 to £80 cheaper in the same grade.

When do new cricket bat ranges come out?
In the autumn before the season they are named for. Gray-Nicolls' 2026 range went on sale in November 2025.

Is a Grade 1 bat in a sale better than a new lower-grade bat?
If the weight and profile suit you, yes: you get the better willow for less. If the only sale bat in your grade is the wrong weight, buy the bat that fits.

Why are cricket bats so expensive now?
English willow is scarce and in demand from South Asia, and a tree takes 15 to 20 years to grow. That is why the MCC now allows laminated bats in open-age club cricket.