The newly-regenerated Fifth Doctor finds a cricket bat near the TARDIS' cricket pitch. (TV: Castrovalva)
The Doctor uses his bat to make a solid defensive play — against a sword-wielding soldier (COMIC: The Tides of Time)
A cricket bat was the main offensive tool used by a cricket side. With it, the batsman hit the ball bowled to him and thereby protected his stumps and earned runs. (PROSE: Happy Endings) Traditionally made of willow, (AUDIO: The Roof of the World; COMIC: The Tides of Time) they required regular application of linseed oil for proper maintenance. (TV: Castrovalva)
Beyond the cricket pitch, they were commonly kept in British houses for self-protection. Amy Pond, for instance, once struck the Eleventh Doctor with one when she felt he had broken into her house. (TV: The Eleventh Hour) Similarly Mike Lyndon kept a cricket bat in his house for protection, which he once had to use against some burglars. (TV: Sleeper) Due to their wooden nature, they also provided effective defence against some bladed weapons. The Fifth Doctor once used his best cricket bat to deflect a sword blow, but was immediately disappointed by the damage the sword did to his beloved bat. (COMIC: The Tides of Time) The Doctor also had another prized bat, signed by Mike Gatting. (PROSE: Fear of the Dark)
Teenage bully Francis Minto, however, used a cricket bat for offence, not defence — he used it twice to destroy snowmen in the playground of Coal Hill Secondary School. Susan Foreman thought for a moment he was about to attack her. When, the second time, the snowman came to life and attacked back, he ran and reportedly screamed like a little girl. (PROSE: Time and Relative)
