'India is bowled over by the cricket bats we make'

3 hours ago

Ben Parker

News image — Will and Guy Foskett run a sawmill in Suffolk that produces around 40,000 cricket bats a year

From an English woodland to a cricket field half the world away, tens of thousands of cricket bats are being shipped to India each year.

It all starts with the English willow tree, commonly known as a cricket bat willow. Manufacturers in the east of England say the region has the perfect conditions for the tree to thrive.

JS Wright & Sons, which is based in Chelmsford, Essex, said around 75% of its products were sent to India and Pakistan. For Foskett Willows in Bromeswell, Suffolk, that figure is closer to 90%.

So just how is it that a small corner of England is helping supply a cricket-mad country of nearly 1.5 billion people?

'Every country wants our willow'

"When I was playing cricket, we shared bats," said Guy Foskett. "Now everyone has their own kit and in India and Pakistan the population that can afford a bat has gone through the roof, so the demand has certainly increased.

"Every other country wants our willow, so even if our cricket team is not doing well, our willow is still performing. Even if the Australians beat us, we can take a little win from it," he joked.

The clefts, which are the main body of bats before the handle is attached, are sent to other manufacturers to be finished and branded.

For many of the cleft manufacturers, it is a family business.

Foskett started Foskett Willows 40 years ago and now his son Will is helping to run things at their sawmill, which is tucked away in rural Suffolk.

He says Suffolk and Essex are responsible for around 75% of the English willow that is grown.

Will said the business produced around 40,000 bats a year.

"We've upped that a little bit in the last few years and, with a few pieces of new machinery, we're hoping to keep on increasing that," he said.

Ben Parker/BBC A man in orange workwear feeds a log into a sawing machine — Dozens of bats can made from a mature willow tree

A regular mature willow can produce around 40 bats. Some of the larger ones can be turned into hundreds.

Logs are brought in to yards, trimmed down and cut to the correct measurements. The quality of the wood is looked at with products given a grading.

An important step is the drying process, done in large kilns.

This can take six weeks and sees moisture in the wood drawn out, with each cleft losing around three litres of water. If this is not done, the wood can crack.

Ben Parker/BBC Cricket bat clefts are stacked up inside a kiln for the drying process to take place — The clefts are dried for around six weeks to remove water from the wood

Each English willow tree can take from 15 to 20 years to reach maturity which means manufacturers have to maintain a good supply.

JS Wright & Sons has been trading in Essex since 1894 and Oliver Wright is the fourth generation.

Wright said his business had felled around 12,000 trees so far in 2026, but would look to plant between 40,000 and 50,000 in the winter.

"We have to look 15-20 years ahead of ourselves," he explained. "The game is more popular now, especially the women's game - that's hugely popular now."

JS Wright & Sons Oliver Wright wearing a checked shirt, he is measuring the width of a tree — Oliver Wright's firm will be planting more trees than it fells this year

While the manufacturers may have their own plantations of willow trees, they also rely on other landowners to provide the materials.

Ed Youngman, from Red House Farm, in Charsfield, Suffolk, has a number of willow trees on the farm, as well as his usual crops.

"It's just another income stream," he said. "Obviously it's not a quick turnaround so it's a long game, but thankfully dad had the foresight to put some in 25 years ago."

Recent dry conditions have made it harder for younger trees.

"They like the wet areas of the farm, so we plant them on our low-lying meadows and along ditches and brooks. Sadly, with the spring droughts we've had, we're having to replant those again," he added.