From Greg Chappell to David Warner, a retrospective look at cricket bat prices

In an effort to wind back the clock on prices, we tracked down Harry Solomons, the founder of Sydney’s famed cricketing warehouse, Kingsgrove Sports Centre.

With almost 50 years in the business, Solomons unlocked the vault to four decades of price catalogues and a lifetime of memories.

A proud Sri Lankan and renowned cricket tragic, in the 1970s, Solomons purchased what was originally a suburban sports store for a price roughly equivalent to the value of nine classy modern day bats.

“My first bat cost $52 dollars, I got it from a sports store in Kingsgrove, that was back in 1976,” said Solomons.

“Shortly after that, I bought the store for $9000. I sold my car for $4000 and took out a bank loan for the rest.

“In the first year we sold around 40 bats, we quickly grew and moved down the road to the current location where we now sell up to 5000 annually.”

With walls clad in authentic Test memorabilia, the store doubles as a museum and includes photographs of the many legends who have visited, or in the case of Steve and Mark Waugh, where they worked before cracking the big time.

While flicking through the pages of a pristine 1980-81 price catalogue, Solomons relived the torment of the typewriter days and the goldrush-like frenzy brought on by the Gray-Nicolls scoop.

It was the season when the underarm controversy tarnished Greg Chappell’s image. Yet, for just over $100, the Aussie skipper was always a hero to those lucky enough to wield his signature brand Super Scoop.

By the time Chappell retired three years later, the top range scoop had doubled in value to $220. And while they slowly faded out of fashion, prices hikes continued to match wages growth, and in 2005, hot on the heels of Matthew Hayden’s blistering 380 against Zimbabwe, Gray Nicolls released the Phoenix ‘Hayden 380’ for an eye-watering $780.

In the 17 years since, the pointy end of the market has climbed to $1400, and according to Solomons, from astroturf warriors to international superstars, Gray-Nics are still the crowd favourite.

“For the seniors, Gray-Nicolls is still the most popular bat, whereas Kookaburra sells the most in the junior space,” Solomons said.

In 46 years of operation, Solomons has cashed in on changing customer demands and acted fast to advances in modern technology.

“Cricket clubs used to be our major clients, but it’s mostly individual sales these days,” Solomons said.

“Clubs don’t need to provide kits so much these days because everyone has their own gear – it’s great for us, we can fit an adult with quality equipment for around $1000, while we’ll kit out a junior for around $600.

“Customers of subcontinental origin are by far our biggest group of buyers these days, those boys just can’t get enough of their cricket. It’s not unusual for some guys, park cricketers, to buy more than five bats just for themselves.”

In response to heightened competition caused by the internet, Solomons simply began manufacturing his own gear and has several high profile users including the Thunder’s Chris Green.

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“The internet has changed everything, wholesalers can now bypass retailers with online sales. It was one of the reasons why I started the Kingsports brand,” Solomons said.

Now in his 70s, a fit and mobile Solomons refuses to hang up the bat, satisfying his on-field fix in the rapidly growing veterans space. It’s probably the main reason why Gray-Nicolls has re-hashed several of its retro models.

“Veterans is the next big thing, sales to the oldies is growing faster than turnover in the junior space,” a smiling Solomons signed off.

Originally published as From Greg Chappell to David Warner, a retrospective look at cricket bat prices