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In pics - Kashmir willow cricket bat factory
Inside a cricket bat-making factory in Sangam, Anantnag near Srinagar. The world famous Kashmir willow is widely used in cricket bats and is also exported to the UK. Manufacturers in Kashmir are experiencing a sharp decline due to the 2016 unrest in the valley. (Waseem andrabi / Ht photo)
Updated on: Feb 24, 2017 5:17 PM IST
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Inside a cricket bat-making factory in Sangam, Anantnag near Srinagar. The world famous Kashmir willow is widely used in cricket bats and is also exported to the UK. Manufacturers in Kashmir are experiencing a sharp decline due to the 2016 unrest in the valley. (Waseem andrabi / Ht photo)
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Kashmiri children climb willow trees, of which cricket bats are made. (WASEEM ANDRABI / HT PHOTO)
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A worker counts stacks of willow cleft cut from trees used in making cricket bats. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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Workers at the factory turn the willows - known as clefts - into finished articles suitable for playing. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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A worker fits a handle into a spliced bat. Each craftsman at the site refines up to 100 bats a day, chiselling and planing the wood into the shape of a bat before the handle is attached. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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It takes fifty years for a willow tree to grow enough to yield clefts suitable to make cricket bats. (waseem andrabi / ht photo)
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Shaping a willow cleft on a machine in the factory. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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The handles of the bat are looped with thread to make the grip. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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Carrying the semi-finished bats for lamination and polishing. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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A worker laminates a bat by dipping it into a furnace. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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Pasting stickers on the now nearly finished cricket bats. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
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