Country diary: The slow magic of growing a cricket bat from scratch | Michael White — SkimNews
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- Cricket-bat willow cultivation requires a 20-30 year turnaround, making it what White calls an "environmentally enhancing diversification" for farmers with damp land unsuitable for crops or grazing.
- The growing process begins with pushing living willow rods directly into soft, damp autumn ground; cuttings take root the following spring and side shoots are rubbed off to produce the straight, knot-free trunks needed for premium bats.
- Grey squirrels strip bark every spring to reach nutrient-rich sap, and while the trees generally survive, the resulting decay can render them unusable for bat-making.
- Michael White, a woodland manager, felled willows he planted in his teenage years, describing the feeling as somewhere "between grief and satisfaction" as the trees are hauled away to become bats.
- New willow rods are planted as old trees are felled, restarting the multi-decade cycle in the same grove.
Why it matters: For farmers with marginal damp land, cricket-bat willows offer a viable long-term crop, but the 20-30 year commitment and the risk that grey squirrel bark-stripping can ruin a tree's timber narrow the pool of growers who can sustain the trade.
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