What you need before you start
- A Meta Quest headset (Quest 2, 3, 3S or Pro) with controllers charged
- A cricket bat — a CricketX smart bat arrives with the mount already fitted
- The controller mount, if you are fitting one to an existing bat
- The CricketX app installed on the headset
- Roughly 2 x 2 m of clear floor with nothing breakable in swing range
Fitting the mount, step by step
Position the mount below the top grip
The mount sits on the handle, immediately below where your top hand grips. Too high and it fouls your hands; too low and it interferes with the bottom hand. If you are unsure, take your normal stance and mark where your top hand's little finger sits — the mount goes just under it.
Orient the controller down the blade
The controller seats with its ring or tracking face pointing along the length of the blade, not across it. This matters: the software derives blade angle from controller orientation, so a controller rotated 90 degrees produces a bat that is 90 degrees wrong in-game.
Tighten evenly and check for play
Tighten until the mount does not rotate under hand pressure, then stop. Over-tightening on a willow handle can compress the rubber grip and, over time, mark the cane. Grab the controller and try to twist it — any movement at all means the calibration will drift mid-session.
Fit the wrist strap
Use the controller's wrist strap even though the controller is in a mount. It costs nothing and it is the difference between a dropped bat and a broken controller.
Run bat mapping in the app
In CricketX, open the bat calibration step. You will be asked to hold the bat in a set position and touch the toe of the blade to the floor. This tells the software your bat's length and the offset between controller and blade.
Do this once per bat. If you share a headset between players using different bats, re-run it when you swap.
Sanity-check the virtual bat
Before facing a ball, look down. The virtual bat should line up with where you feel the real one. If the blade appears shorter, longer, or rotated, re-run the mapping — do not play through it, because every shot analytic you record afterwards will be measuring the wrong object.
Four mistakes worth avoiding
Mounting on the blade rather than the handle. It seems more stable. It puts the controller directly in the contact zone and throws the weight distribution off completely.
Skipping calibration because "it looked about right". The whole value of a real bat is accurate measurement. An uncalibrated bat gives you a worse dataset than a controller would.
Playing in a room you have not cleared properly. A full drive with a 1.2 kg bat covers a lot of ground. Set the Guardian boundary wider than you think you need.
Using a bat that is too heavy for the player. Junior players swinging a senior bat will develop compensations in VR exactly as they would in a net. Match the bat to the player.
Common questions
Can I fit a mount to any cricket bat?
Most standard handles take a mount. Very thick or heavily re-gripped handles can be a tight fit. CricketX bats come with the mount fitted and pre-mapped, which removes the guesswork.
Does the mount work with Quest 3 and Quest 3S controllers?
Yes. Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S and Quest Pro controllers are all supported. Check which controller generation your mount is cut for, as the ringless Quest 3 controllers have a different profile to Quest 2.
How often should I re-calibrate?
Once per bat is normally enough. Re-run it if you move the mount, change bats, or notice the virtual blade no longer matching where the real one feels.
Is a lighter 3D-printed bat better indoors?
For small rooms and junior players, often yes. For senior players training technique, the closer the bat is to your match bat, the more the practice transfers. The bat comparison sets out the weights.
What to do next
With the bat mounted and mapped, the useful next step is structuring a session rather than just facing random deliveries. The VR cricket training guide covers building a delivery playlist around a specific weakness, and this explainer covers why the real bat changes what you are practising.
Bats with the mount already fitted
Four models, real willow and 3D-printed, from $60.