Product Review: Williamson Boucher Classic Batting Gloves

Having written before about the Williamson Boucher Classic Bundle, how much I liked the look of the brand, and what I great idea I thought the bundle concept was, I was delighted when Williamson Boucher sent me a bundle to review and to support my NHS project as I return to the pitch aged 57 and after a 33 year break from the game.

I am going to review each item separately as I have covered the bundle elsewhere.

At Willamson Boucher Cricket we endeavour to create the perfect personal cricket bat made to your own specification. Thus allowing batters to perform to the best of their ability. Each bat is hand crafted from the finest selection of English Willow to the shape, weight and grade of your choice.

Personal and very friendly company, and yes I know the quote references their bat but you will see below that their approach is the same for all their products!

Williamson Boucher Classic Batting Gloves

My Review

Fair to say that Williamson Boucher is not as well known a brand as either Gray-Nicolls or Masuri so direct comparisons are unfair, but at the same time inevitable!

They are a little cheaper (£5) than the Masuri E Line Gloves, the only other gloves I know of that have additional wrist protection, but £40 more than the Gray-Nicolls Prestige Gloves which I also use.

I have a theory about batting gloves. The majority of protective equipment will suffice for the club cricketer, it is all so good these days, but if you are going to splash out on one item it would be your gloves. Pace wise we are unlikely to face anyone fast enough to warrant Elite level pads and helmets, but a blow on the end of a finger or on a knuckle runs the risk of a) hurting and b) putting you on the sidelines for a few weeks so I would always urge favouring gloves when it comes to spending your cash.

I am a fan of the flatter ‘shell’ style of protection as opposed to the traditional sausage style, so these fit well with be aesthetically. They also fit well and are unbelievably comfortable. Don’t be fooled by how light they are – they offer more than enough protection, and most importantly they feel like they will.

No surprise I love the simplicity of the design and branding, but a down side is that unlike many other gloves that use colour and more obvious branding it could lead you to think that there wasn’t that much to these gloves. You would be wrong in a big way, take a close look at the logo to get an idea to the attention to detail the company brings to their products. Check out the ‘under the bonnet’ stuff below in the Manufacturers Product Description, but a great feature is the moisture management on palm and backhand which really does keep the effects of sweat to a minimum.

I think the best way to describe these gloves is that they instantly feel like an old friend and the best compliment that I can pay them is that within minutes I had forgotten about them! I know, weird to say that when you writing a review but think about it …. they were so comfortable, so reassuring, so natural a feel that I was not aware for more than two balls that I was meant to be concentrating on the gloves. They allowed me to focus solely on my batting and that surely is what it is all about? By way of example, my hands are not particularly large but I regularly find I am aware of my thumb nudging up against the end of the glove, but not with these. I have checked and they are not significantly longer, but they are softer which I think is the reason.

Certainly a premium price but you will get a premium product that will not disappoint and you will be supporting a local English business run by people that love, and play, cricket, and no surprise that the gloves are understated, not at all flashy and let their quality do they talking as they are based in Yorkshire!

Recommended without hesitation.

Manufactures Product Description

PROFILE: WB Classic Batting Gloves Pro choice.

FIT: Ergonomically designed for snugger Fit, unrivaled protection and flexibility.

PALM: Customised fully pitted white leather palm giving superb feel, grip and durability. Customized Leather possesses the unique characteristic of water repellence, perspiration resistance and breathability as well as increasing the abrasion resistance by 25-30 percent without any loss of grip, comfort or feel.

BACKHAND: Exclusive handcrafted design, ultra light PU and brushed PU fingers, PVC eyelet detail, PU back for enhanced flexibility, cushioned toweling inside for moisture management.

FINGER PROTECTION: Moulded fibre shells in all fingers with high-density plastazote foam in lead hand, superfine traditional cushioning in the bottom hand, artistically designed shells for maximum protection, 2-piece gel side bolster, and leather tab on fingertips.

LINING: Special Etha Flex sheet lining, ultra soft-brushed nylon gusset, moisture wicking comfort, and airmesh ventilation system for thumb.

WRIST: Elasticated towelling with additional gel protection bar.

MRP: £94.99

About The Review

Reviews will always identify whether the product has been bought for my own use, gifted for my own use, or sent for review. I will keep items I have bought or been gifted. Items sent for review once reviewed will be donated to Penkridge Cricket Club, MERIT PRU or the YMCA North Staffordshire as appropriate.

Reviews will always be my personal, unbiased, opinion based on my experience of the product and my own abilities. The reality is that most of the time I will not warrant the quality of product being reviewed, but what can I say, I like “stuff” especially “good quality stuff” so that is all there is to say on the matter!!

Reviews will include the list price and where applicable the price paid, a link to the source of the product and the manufacturer and where available manufacturer published product information. If a manufacturer or seller has asked me to publish a special discount or offer I will make this clear.

If you have a question or opinion please leave it in the comments below and I will reply.

We will write a Featured Review for a donation of £25 to our cat re-homing project (ALStrays), but this will be CLEARLY categorised as a Featured Post.