Laminated Cricket Bats: What the 2026 Law Change Means for Club Players

From 1 October 2026, the Laws of Cricket change, and one of those changes affects what you are allowed to bat with. Laminated bats, which have been restricted to junior cricket, become legal in open-age cricket. If you play club or recreational cricket in the UK, this is the law change most likely to matter to your kit bag.

What has actually changed

The MCC has announced a new edition of the Laws of Cricket taking effect on 1 October 2026, containing 73 material changes in all. Among them is the legalisation of laminated bats in open-age cricket rather than only in junior cricket, which the MCC has described as part of an attempt to slow the rising cost of bats worldwide.

That is the whole of the change in one sentence, but the consequences are wider than they first appear, because laminated construction opens the door to bats that are not made from a single piece of premium English willow.

What a laminated bat actually is

A conventional cricket bat blade is one piece of willow, cut from a single cleft and shaped. A laminated bat is built from more than one piece of wood bonded together. Under the new Laws, a blade may be made from up to three wooden pieces, and woods other than willow are permitted behind the striking face.

In practice, that usually means a good quality willow face doing the job it needs to do, backed by cheaper or more plentiful timber that never touches the ball. You are paying for premium wood only where premium wood earns its keep. These are commonly referred to as Type D bats, after the bat classifications in the Laws, although the MCC's own announcement uses the plainer term laminated.

Why has the MCC done this

Two reasons, and both are about supply rather than performance. Fraser Stewart, the MCC's Laws Manager, framed it as an affordability measure, saying the club felt that anything which helps make the sport more affordable at the lower levels, without changing the dynamics of the game, was a sensible move. He also pointed to the underlying constraint plainly, noting that there is "not really enough willow to go round" and that sustainability was part of the thinking.

The trade agrees. Alex Hohenkerk, a bat-maker at Gray-Nicolls, welcomed the change and made the practical point that lamination lets a maker use three pieces of wood that would otherwise have gone unused.

That is worth sitting with, because it explains why this is happening now. Bat-grade English willow takes many years to mature, only a fraction of any harvest is good enough for a top-grade bat, and the rest has historically had nowhere useful to go. Lamination gives that timber a job. Our guide to what you are really paying for in an expensive bat covers why scarcity drives so much of the price.

Will laminated bats be legal in your league?

This is the question that matters, and the honest answer is that the MCC changing the Laws is not the same as your league changing its playing conditions. The Laws of Cricket set the framework, and individual governing bodies and competitions decide what is permitted at each level of the game they run.

At the time of writing, we have not been able to find a published position from the ECB on laminated bats in English recreational cricket. Until one appears, the sensible course is straightforward: if you are thinking about a laminated bat for the 2027 season, ask your league or county board before you buy, not after. Playing conditions are typically confirmed in the close season, so the answer may not exist yet.

Professional cricket is a separate matter again, and is expected to continue with traditional single piece blades.

Do laminated bats perform differently?

The change followed significant testing by the MCC alongside bat makers. It is worth being careful here, because this is exactly the sort of question where confident claims circulate without evidence behind them. What can be said is that the MCC was satisfied that the change would not alter the dynamics of the game, which is a meaningful statement from the body that writes the Laws.

What nobody can honestly tell you yet is how a given laminated bat will feel in your hands compared with the single-piece bat you own now, because that depends on the individual bat. As with any bat, pick-up and balance will tell you more in thirty seconds than any specification sheet.

Should you wait before buying a bat?

Probably not, and here is the reasoning rather than a recommendation dressed up as one.

We do not currently stock laminated bats. The change takes effect at the end of the 2026 English season, ranges take time to reach retail, and your league's position may not be settled for a while after that. If you need a bat for this season or next, buying a conventional one now costs you nothing in optionality.

If your motivation for waiting is cost, there is already a cheaper route that is legal everywhere today. Kashmir willow is harder, more durable and considerably less expensive than English willow, and at the bottom of the market, a good Kashmir bat will usually outperform and outlast the cheapest English willow bat available. For a junior, or for a second bat that lives in the nets, it is often the smarter buy rather than the compromise.

And if you are buying at the middle of the range, the honest position is that a Grade 2 or Grade 3 English willow bat with sound shaping does most of what a flawless one does. Our materials and grades guide sets out where the money actually goes, and the 2026 buyer's roundup works through what we hold in stock at each level.

What this means for bat prices

Nobody should promise you that bats are about to get cheaper. What the change does is give makers a legitimate way to build a serviceable bat using timber that could not previously be used in open-age cricket, which over time should ease pressure at the affordable end of the market rather than at the top. Premium single-piece English willow will remain scarce, and scarce things stay expensive.

The more interesting effect may be on what a budget bat is. If a laminated bat with a decent willow face becomes normal at entry level, the floor for playable quality rises, and that is good for anyone kitting out a junior or coming back to the game after a few years away.

The short version

From 1 October 2026, laminated bats are legal in open age cricket under the Laws, built from up to three pieces of wood with non-willow timber allowed behind the face. The MCC's stated reason is cost and sustainability rather than performance. Whether you can use one in your league is a separate question set by your governing body, and one you should ask before buying. Until then, the conventional cricket bats you can buy today remain legal everywhere they were legal yesterday.

FAQs: laminated and Type D cricket bats

When do laminated bats become legal?
The new edition of the Laws of Cricket takes effect on 1 October 2026 and permits laminated bats in open-age cricket rather than only in junior cricket.

What is a Type D cricket bat?
A bat whose blade is made from more than one piece of wood bonded together, rather than a single cleft. Under the new Laws, a blade may use up to three wooden pieces, with woods other than willow permitted behind the striking face.

Why has the MCC allowed laminated bats?
To address the rising cost of bats and the limited supply of bat-grade English willow. The MCC's Laws Manager has described it as an affordability measure for the lower levels of the game, with sustainability a further consideration.

Can I use a laminated bat in my league next season?
Not automatically. The Laws set the framework, but each governing body and competition decides what is permitted at the level it runs. Check with your league or county board before buying one.

Will laminated bats be used in professional cricket?
Professional cricket is expected to continue using traditional single-piece willow blades.

Do you sell laminated bats?
Not at present. Every bat we stock is a conventional single-piece willow bat, in English or Kashmir willow, and all of them remain legal at every level they were legal at before.

Will this make cricket bats cheaper?
It may ease pressure at the affordable end of the market by giving makers a use for timber that could not previously go into an open-age bat. Premium single-piece English willow remains scarce, so the top of the market is unlikely to move much.

Sources

MCC's announcement of the new edition of the Laws was published at Lord's. Quotes from Fraser Stewart and Alex Hohenkerk are reported by The Independent, 3 February 2026.