The Village Cricketer Column: Pain of the rain eased slightly by taking delivery of my shiny, so-far unused new cricket bat

So, it’s been a slow start for my new stash of gleaming kit, which is sat gathering dust and cobwebs as it gazes out the window, wishing away the rain and dreaming of sunnier climes than Ecclesfield.

As regular readers of the Village Cricketer - anyone? - will know, this is my first season back after one out, and my first playing Saturday cricket since my late teens. Much has changed since then - women have come and gone, inches around my waistline have arrived and don’t seem so keen to leave - and it was time to change my gear, too.

Step forward B3, a company based in Nottingham and co-founded by Dr David Bacon, who teaches at Sheffield Hallam University.

B3’s premise is a simple one; to offer custom-made bats not just for the professionals, but for the amateurs (and the exceedingly average players, too).

A visit to the factory enabled me to pick the exact piece of wood I would be wielding in anger all season - weather permitting - and a detailed debrief with Dr Dave allowed me to choose everything - the weight, middle position, size of the edges and, of course, sticker colour.

Well, it’s got to at least look attractive as I slope off back to the pavilion after a glorious innings of six runs, right?

The B3 lads have made bats for far more talented players than me - although, for sponsorship reasons, they’re not allowed to boast about it - and an afternoon in their company is a true education in cricket.

Well worth a visit. If only the weather would improve...