With the 2019 Ashes series underway, the Love the Sales data team has been tracking online demand for each cricket bat being used by batsman in the England and Australia line ups. Who has the most desired willow?

The results are based on search trends, page views and products sales of bats that feature in the 2019 Ashes series.

New Balance DC 1080

RRP: £500

Used by: Steve Smith (Australia)

Runs scored in the series using the bat: 286

The New Balance DC 1080 is a bat for dynamic players who like to score runs all around the wicket.

It currently belongs to the top run scorer Steve Smith, whose back to back hundreds with the bat arguably won the first test match for Australia.

The 11 hours Steve spent at the crease was a perfect advertisement for how effective this bat is. In that time we tracked an increase in searches of 121% for the New Balance DC 1080 online.

New Balance TC 1260

RRP: £495

Used by: Rory Burns (England), Joe Root (England)

Runs scored in the series using the bat: 190

New Balance have shaken up the cricketing world by signing high profile players to their brand. The likes of Joe Root, Dale Steyn and Steven Smith now all use New Balance bats.

New Balance released the TC 1260 in late 2018 and hailed it “a contemporary bat for the new modern batsman”.

Thanks to Joe Root’s inspiring World Cup performances with the bat, the TC 1260 has been popular with shoppers online. However, it wasn’t until Rory Burns made headlines with his maiden test hundred on Friday, that we saw a spike in demand of 66% for the bat.

Kookaburra Kahuna Pro

RRP: £599

Used by: Jos Buttler (England), Peter Siddle (Australia) & Tim Paine (Australia)

Runs scored in the series using the bat: 89

The Kookaburra Kahuna Pro is a more traditional bat compared to the New Balance models.

The iconic bat was first introduced back in 2001 in partnership with Australian legend Ricky Ponting, and is well loved in the cricketing world.

The Kookaburra Pro’s profile and performance is perfect for heavy hitters and is now used by England’s Jos Buttler and Australia’s Tim Paine & Peter Siddle.

Gray-Nicolls Pro Performance

RRP: £499

Used by: Jonny Bairstow (England)

Runs scored in the series using the bat: 14

Gray-Nicolls cricket bats have been around for over 100 years and the brand is well known for making some of the best bats in the world.

However, innovation from brands like New Balance has resulted in fewer top order batsman using Gray-Nicolls.

Of course, the name still has a huge pull with cricket fans and the Pro Performance proves to be a fan favourite online with its lightweight pickup and thick edges. The brands long standing reputation in cricket keeps it in the top 5.

The bat is used by England’s wicket-keeper batsman, Jonny Bairstow, who is yet to replicate the form he displayed in the World Cup.

Gunn & Moore Phase II DXM Players Edition

RRP: £650

Used by: Ben Stokes (England)

Runs scored in the series using the bat: 56

Ben Stokes’ incredible World Cup winning performances for England have had a significant impact on the Phase II’s popularity online.

After his dramatic innings against New Zealand, we tracked a 213% increase in searches online for his GM bat.

The bat has stayed in high demand going into the Ashes series, but if Ben Stokes can engineer more performances like his World Cup final during the Ashes, it might push this bat further up this list.

Interestingly, New Balance dropped Ben Stokes after drunken antics back in 2017 landed the cricketer in court.

Fast forward two years and the vice-captain is odds on favourite for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, and has a host of endorsement deals to his name, including Red Bull and Gunn & Moore.

New Balance’s decision to drop Stokes has certainly cost the brand sales and most likely prevented them from having three of the top five bats in the series.

Love the Sales is a shopping aggregator that tracks over 6 million products from 1,000 of the top online retailers.

For more information, please contact liam@lovethesales.com