China may have a chokehold(扼制；垄断控制) on rare earths and Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz, but there is one corner of global supply chains that is forever England. High-end cricket bats, which can retail for over £1,000 ($1,350), are almost all produced from English willow. No other wood provides the same ping. The price of English trees has tripled(增加了两倍（变为三倍）) since 2017, driven by demand from cricket-mad India(对板球痴迷的印度).
中国可能卡住稀土的脖子，伊朗可以关闭霍尔木兹海峡，但全球供应链中有一个角落永远属于英格兰。高端板球拍零售价可超过1000英镑（1350美元），几乎全部由英国柳木制成。没有其他木材能提供同样的“砰”声。自2017年以来，在英国柳木的需求推动下——这股需求来自对板球痴迷的印度——英国柳树的价格已经上涨了两倍。
At the Essex headquarters of J.S. Wright & Sons, supplier of wood for about three-quarters of willow bats globally, the yard vibrates to the sound of chainsaw on willow. Trucks deposit trees from across Britain. Each trunk is cut into about 40 wedge-shaped clefts(裂片；楔形木块), which are then dried in heated warehouses. Most are shipped to India for the final transformation from cleft to bat. Business is booming(生意兴隆). The 132-year-old company reported £16.7m in sales in 2024, up by 35% on the year before.(这家拥有132年历史的公司在2024年报告销售额为1670万英镑，同比增长35%。)
在J.S. Wright & Sons的埃塞克斯总部——这家公司为全球约四分之三的柳木拍提供木材——院子里回荡着电锯切割柳木的声音。卡车卸下来自英国各地的树木。每根树干被切成约40个楔形裂片，然后在加热仓库中干燥。大多数裂片被运往印度，完成从裂片到球拍的最终转变。生意兴隆。这家拥有132年历史的公司在2024年报告销售额为1670万英镑，同比增长35%。
Sourcing enough wood is a growing challenge. An English willow takes about 15 years to reach maturity. J.S. Wright plants up to 45,000 saplings a year, but only one in three or four will be usable. “We have to factor in(把…考虑在内) deer damage, squirrel damage, beaver damage, lack of maintenance,” explains Oliver Wright, the fourth generation to manage the family firm.
采购足够的木材是一个日益严峻的挑战。一棵英国柳树大约需要15年才能成熟。J.S. Wright每年最多种植45000棵幼苗，但只有三分之一或四分之一可用。“我们必须考虑鹿的破坏、松鼠的破坏、河狸的破坏，以及缺乏维护，”管理这家家族企业的第四代继承人奥利弗·赖特解释道。