About Us
GRAY-NICOLLS is a global brand committed to producing the finest cricket products for all users from the international level to the grassroots.
Our products are of the highest quality and ethnically sourced, ensuring we maintain our position as a market leader.
Dating back to 1855, GRAY-NICOLLS remains a family business and is the home of TRADITION, INNOVATION and PERFORMANCE.
BRAND MISSION
Our brand mission is to provide the highest quality and fit for purpose, ethically manufactured cricket products and apparel on the market.
PRODUCT
GRAY-NICOLLS bats continue to be hand crafted at our premises in Cheltenham, Victoria, using a combination of traditional and innovative methods, resulting in a product of exceptional quality. We are proud to have always been at the forefront of innovation and in the hands of the world’s elite players.
Our bat making team are constantly refining and enhancing their skills and take great pride in ensuring every bat is made to the highest standard, striving to ensure our bats have the best rebound and power, to go that bit further over the boundary.
Our products are used globally through professional teams and players, including Australia’s Aaron Finch and Beth Mooney, and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and Amelia Kerr. GRAY-NICOLLS creates the finest products including batting gloves and leg guards, as well as ensuring our helmets are light, comfortable and most importantly, safe. GRAY-NICOLLS helmets boast a 46mm field of vision, 5 per cent wider than any other brand.
GRAY-NICOLLS is also a major player in the teamwear space, customising clothing for clubs and competitions, as well as products such as helmets and kit bags.
ETHICS & ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
We pride ourself on a strict ethical sourcing policy that all suppliers must adhere to across our full product range. A number of factors such as labour rights, fair and safe working conditions and environmental compliance are key components of this. We remain environmentally friendly, using materials responsibly and cutting down on plastic where possible.
GRAY-NICOLLS grows only the finest English willow for the production of their cricket bats, with a willow replenishment programme having been pioneered nearly 100 years ago, to ensure extra trees are planted as they are cut down for production.
HISTORY
GRAY-NICOLLS started making bats in Melbourne in 1972 as an extension of a long history of bat making dating back to 1876 in the UK, and will proudly celebrate the remarkable milestone of 50 years of Australian production in 2022.
The original brand GRAY-NICOLLS is derived from Henry John Gray who founded Grays Rackets and an accompanying retail shop. He later expanded the brand into other sports, notably cricket and tennis.
In 1941, Alison and H.D Gray took over the business and acquired several other brands including 50 per cent of the world-renowned cricket bat business of L.J Nicolls. This acquisition resulted in a renaming of the business to what you know today as GRAY-NICOLLS, with a full acquisition coming in the 1960s.
GRAY-NICOLLS remains the choice of many of the world’s finest players, and the company is still owned and controlled by the Gray family to this day, making it a 6th generation family business.