Since his “traineeship”, Morris now whistles on his way to work. On a Monday, he says, his workspace can “resemble A&E” with distraught owners wanting “old faithful” to be patched up ready for battle again.But, he adds: “I spend every weekday refurbishing bats from across the country, often from Europe, with more and more coming […]
Since his “traineeship”, Morris now whistles on his way to work. On a Monday, he says, his workspace can “resemble A&E” with distraught owners wanting “old faithful” to be patched up ready for battle again.But, he adds: “I spend every weekday refurbishing bats from across the country, often from Europe, with more and more coming from further afield like America and Canada. Quiet months don’t exist for me because of the amount of schools that do winter training and winter indoor leagues.”As Morris explains, many brands are now mass-made in Asian factories, and even some long-standing British brands have moved their production overseas. But he praises the bats still lovingly made in Britain, like Gunn & Moore, which is based by the River Trent, and Hunts County from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.“My videos on Instagram receive millions of views every week from passionate cricketers, badgers, and a huge following comes from Asia. But I know there are many who need an escape from tedious jobs, like I did, or the extra income to make ends meet, follow my videos and learn as I learn. My motto is ‘look after the willow and the willow will look after you – and your pocket.’”“Almost two years ago I heard that Nick Wisdom, son of the famous Norman Wisdom, was hanging up his mallet and putting his linseed oil away. Nick was a local legend in the cricket bat world and, after a contract at Sussex county cricket club, he opened a sports shop called Wisdom Sports, which has been going strong for over 40 years. It became a Mecca that people would flock to, picking up some of the best hand-selected English willow bats from all over the country. I was lucky to spend time working with Nick, learning from him on repairing bats.“I’ll never be as tuned into willow as Nick was, but he taught me a lot. When he pops in the shop from time to time we can talk willow for hours – every conversation is a school day for me. I’ll never be the legend Nick was, but I’ve been able to use social media, especially Instagram, to attract new business. Nick is old school – he can’t be contacted as he doesn’t have a mobile phone.Then, with a desire to develop his growing talent, he was inspired to convert this hobby to a full-time job by a surprising mentor.
