Tim Keeley

Nick Keeley

Tim is our head bat maker. He began his bat making journey under the guidance of the late John Newbery an has dedicated 49 years to crafting bats for internationally renowned professionals. His innovative designs and commitment to looking after some of the worlds best cricketers has mastered his skills to produce the world class quality craftsmanship that you all know and use today. 

He has made over half a million bats since starting out as an apprentice aged 16 in 1975 at Gray Nicholls. He is still passionate about his work and enjoys the pleasure that his bats bring to local players and top players alike.

During his time as a bat maker the cricket bat shape has changed dramatically over the last 45 years toes used to be left or right-handed, and all bats were a similar shape with half inch edges, weighing around 2lb 5oz. Since then, he has experienced bats with weighted handles, cutaway shoulders, bats with holes in, scoop bats and carbon fibre handles.

Nick , Tim's younger brother, also learned the trade alongside John Newbery. With over 40 years of experience working with wood, he began his career at the family sawmill. Nick personally selects each cleft for manufacture and rigorously tests every bat for performance before it leaves the factory. His extensive knowledge of grading and machining clefts makes him an invaluable right hand man to Tim and few bat makers in the world have handles as many clefts as Nick.

Kevin Woodgate

Kevin is our expert in sanding, buffing and polishing bats to perfection. He started at Gray Nicholls even before Tim, accumulating over 50 years of experience in bat making and repair. Kevin is also our repair and refurbishment specialist, capable of restoring even the most damaged bats.

Keira Keeley

Keira is Tim's daughter and our office manager. She handles admin, social media, and customer service, making her the first point of contact for our customers.  

Fred Keeley

Fred is Tim and Nick's youngest brother, he mainly runs our family sawmill but he fills in for Kev sanding and polishing the bats. He also started making bats 30 years ago working under the Gray Nicholls "boot camp".

Timmy Bayne

Timmy is our customer service man, having worked and managed many cricket shops in the UK over the last 45 years. Alongside working the shops he has been a highly recommended cricket coach for many years for Sussex, Surrey, Kent and numerous schools, if Timmy can't find your perfect bat, no one can.