If someone gave you £1000, many things would come into your head about what to spend it on. A holiday, a car, a 3D Plasma TV, and maybe somewhere down the line you could use a small part of it and treat yourself to a new cricket bat. Well, if you decide to really treat yourself, then you’ll need the whole £1000 just for the cricket bat! That’s right, Newbery have released for 2011 the world’s most expensive cricket bat, costing a whopping £1000!

How on earth do they expect to get away with this then? Well for a start their market is pretty small, they are only going to make 25 of them, and each one will be made specifically to the requirements of the new owner. Of course at this price, you’ll be guaranteed only the top class piece of English willow, and you’ll be invited along to the Newbery workshop to design and specify the weight before watching as it is made. The bat is then individually numbered and the owners name embossed on the back of the bat, and it comes in a protective case more akin to a suitcase!

I’m not sure how I feel about this bat as there are plenty of companies who will build a bespoke cricket bat for you, and for a whole heap of change less than £1000 – and with willow being a natural ‘ingredient’, who is to say it’ll perform any better or won’t break within a season?! It may just be clever marketing from Newbery, getting people (like me!) talking about their brand, and they may find some super rich people vain enough that they want to show off to everyone in the club with their expensive bat, but I can’t help but think that those in the know will think they have way more money than sense.

What is the most you’ve ever spent on a cricket bat? Did you buy it online or would you spend the extra to have it built especially for you?