A Potted History of The Katchet...

In the early twentieth Century when Cricketers wore flannels and W.G Grace was the biggest and best in them, fielders were on the field only to pick up the ball from the boundary, mere spectators to W.G’s swashbuckling blade. These were the days of the slip cradle. Like an upside down tortoise shell, but considerably heavier it was a god send as far as the Police were concerned as none were ever stolen. The slip cradle dominated cricket grounds from Birmingham to Barbados and Bangalore to Brisbane for the next 100 years. Flying in the face of a world which knew no limitations, a world which flew to the moon and discovered Velcro and the internet and a world who’s Cricket had advanced at the same rapid rate of knots. Players got a lot fitter, Coaching techniques advanced, there was video analysis and bowling machines but when it came to fielding, the slip cradle was still its crusty king.

I wasn’t happy, I was bored, I’d stagnated. I needed something more for my personal development. I wanted new equipment and drills to hone my skills to help me towards world domination! Using everything I could find from tennis balls to rebounding nets, I eventually settled on the club roller. As old as my Grandfather and almost as creaky it was the best catching practice around, but like a lot of old timers it didn’t travel well and a back would go whenever it was moved.

I drew up a plan of what I would want from a fielding aid with the roller as my inspiration, it needed to be easy to use, portable, inexpensive, versatile and could mirror exactly the random deflections which occurred during a game off bat or wicket?

With the help of some wood, nails, glue and my father’s DIY skills the ‘Ledge’ as we had named it, was born. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination it was ugly, heavy and easily damaged. However it worked, it was fun and I knew my game improved through using it. I was able to practise exactly what occurred during a game and I was able to do it easily and repetitively. The ‘Ledge’ was too good for the rest of the world not to benefit. With the help of a friend and some people who knew a bit about manufacturing the Katchet was born.

Not without a lot of work and all manner of prototypes what has been finally produced is a fabulous product. I may be biased but the world class players and coaches already using it are not. We pay nobody to use or endorse Katchet and it’s not just that we’re stingy Scots, though we are! It’s because we want you to know that if somebody’s using it or talking about it then their feelings are genuine. Enjoy training and experimenting with it and not tweaking your back when you pick it up! 

The King is dead long live the Katchet.   

Colin Smith
Director, Ledgends Ltd.