A Brief History
Bradbury Bats first began crafting cricket bats in 1993 in Launceston, Tasmania after Paul was invited to join the Tasmanian state squad. It was there where he became good friends with Ricky Ponting, who later became a long term user of Bradbury bats.
Both Paul and Sally are virtually self-taught in the crafting of cricket bats. They use English willow and mostly antique tools such as the block plane, draw knife and spokeshave. Another unusual technique used to polish the bats, is a horses shinbone.
After two years in Tasmania, the batmakers returned to Fremantle, Western Australia and later expanded to a more convenient workshop. It is at this time when the likes of Steve Waugh and Shane Warne joined Ricky as regular customers.
Facts
The Bradbury logo includes the 'tygre passant' taken directly from the Bradbury family coat of arms.
Sally was one of the first ever female batmakers in the world and she played first class cricket in Australia and the UK.
The first scoring shot of a Bradbury bat was a clean hit for six by Richard Bennett, former opening batsman for Tasmania, Captain of Launceston Cricket Club.
The first customer in the UK was artist Damian Hurst. He commissioned Sally Bradbury to craft a bat which bore the number "666". He had been lunching next door in Podshavers Restaurant with the late Joe Strummer.
The name given for the handcrafting of cricket bats is Podshaving. This word has been ommitted from the Oxford Dictionary due to lack of use.
Paul Bradbury worked as an "apprentice" for four years, before that company was bought out. This was when Bradbury Bats was established. Paul had never crafted a bat until he started making under his own label.
Sally and Paul kept a journal of all their customers over the years, they numbered every bat and recorded details of dates, names and special requirements. The journals make an interesting read.
In 2001, along with their three young children, the Bradburys moved overseas to Somerset, England, working from a barn on a dairy farm. For six years they spent six months operating in each country, alternating between cricket seasons. The Bradbury market grew from professional cricketers to more and more of the cricketing public.
The Bradbury standard has been achieved through many years of hand-craftmenship, creative and innovative design, a unique perspective on technique and dedicated workmanship.
Bradbury embraces the use of CAD/CAM where it produces a superior product, always combining with handcrafting to achieve the highest standard that is synonymous with Bradbury.