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How do I add my first bat? Tap + Add New Bat on the home screen. Choose whether it's a New Bat, a Season Old Bat you're re-seasoning, or Knocking Only if you just want to log knocks with no phase guidance. Enter your bat's brand and (optionally) any notes about willow type, size, or weight then set your target as either a knock count or a time target. You can also add a photo of your bat face, which is used for the heatmap overlay.
What knocking target should I set? This varies by willow type and grade there's no single right number. As a general guide, English willow typically needs more knocking-in time than Kashmir willow. You can set or change your target anytime by tapping Set Target on your bat profile. Note that completing your target doesn't guarantee the bat is fully match-ready the app tracks your knocking activity, it doesn't measure the bat's actual playing condition.
Can I add a bat without a photo? Yes. The photo is optional and only used for the heatmap overlay. All knock counting and progress tracking works without one.
How does knock counting work? Knockmate uses your phone's microphone to detect the sharp impact sound of a bat knock during a live session. Place your phone nearby with the microphone facing the bat and start a session. The app filters out background noise and voice using calibration only sharp transient sounds above the calibrated threshold are counted.
This relies purely on your phone's microphone — background noise, talking, or other sounds in the room can cause miscounts. For best accuracy, knock in a quiet space.
Why is my knock not being counted, or why is background noise being counted as a knock? Tap Start Calibration at the beginning of your session this sets the detection threshold above your voice and ambient noise level. Keep the phone closer to the bat than to any noise source, and avoid loud sounds like talking, music, or a TV nearby during your session.
Can I manually correct the knock count? Yes. During a live session, use the −1 and +1 correction buttons to adjust the count if a knock was missed or wrongly detected. These corrections only affect the count the session's time is tracked separately by a real clock, so it's always accurate regardless of count corrections.
Does the app count knocks if I switch to another app? The microphone requires the app to be in the foreground. Keep Knockmate open during your session for accurate counting.
I knocked on a machine, not by hand can I still log it? Yes. On your bat profile, use Log Machine / External Knocking. Enter the number of knocks completed time taken is optional, since you may not always know exactly how long it took. If you do know the time, enter it and it'll be recorded exactly if you leave it blank, the app won't guess or estimate a duration, it simply won't count that session's time in your totals. Knocks logged this way are split across heatmap zones using a fixed estimate (Sweet Spot 70%, Edge 20%, Toe 10%), not real positional data.
How do I set up the heatmap for my bat? Go to your bat profile and tap Add Bat Photo. Once added, open the Heatmap screen Pro users can tap Edit Zones to trace the bat blade outline and set zone boundaries manually.
What do the heatmap colours mean? The scale runs from blue (not knocked) through cyan, green, yellow, and orange, to red (fully knocked). This is a graphical representation built from your logged knock data it's not a photographic scan of your bat, and doesn't precisely measure or guarantee exactly where your bat has been knocked. Tap the (i) icon on the heatmap screen for more on this.
What are the zone targets? Your target knocks are allocated across Sweet Spot, Edge, Toe, and Top Edge, with the Sweet Spot receiving the largest share since it needs the most preparation. The overall bat readiness percentage is a weighted view across all zones.
Zone data accuracy depends on how it was logged. If you select a specific zone before a live knocking session, every knock in that session counts precisely toward that zone. If knocks are logged through the Machine Knocking Logger instead, the app splits the total across zones using a fixed estimate rather than real position data treat those numbers as a rough guide.
What replaced the old Prep Phase Timer? Your bat's preparation now runs as an inline journey on the bat profile — Oiling, then Light, Medium, and Full knocking phases, each with its own target. Progress through each phase is tracked from your actual knocking sessions rather than a separate standalone timer, and moving between phases is manual — you decide when you're ready to move on, rather than the app forcing it automatically. This rewards consistent, patient knocking over rushing to a number.
Do I have to do all phases in one sitting? No. Each phase's progress persists across app restarts and however many sessions you need to complete it.
What is the difference between English and Kashmir willow? English willow generally needs more knocking-in time and has a softer grain requiring gradual compression. Kashmir willow is denser and typically needs less time, focused mainly on the edges and toe. See the full comparison in Bat Care → English vs Kashmir Willow.
How often should I oil my bat? Oil your bat before your first knocking session and at the start of each new season. Apply a thin coat of raw linseed oil to the face, edges, and back — avoid the splice and handle. Leave horizontally for 24 hours before knocking.
What causes bat damage? Common causes include mistimed shots (edges, top-handle hits), hitting stumps with the blade, playing in wet conditions, transport without a bat cover, low-quality hard balls on a new bat, and skipping knocking-in or end-of-season oiling. See the full guide in Bat Care → Common Causes of Bat Damage.
How do I log a match? Tap + Add Match from the Performance tab. Enter your batting and/or bowling stats depending on your role that match, and log catches taken separately — available regardless of role, since anyone can take a catch while fielding. You can also attach an optional photo of the scorecard or match summary.
What is the Field Picker for? When logging a dismissal, you can mark where you were caught out using an interactive cricket field diagram. This mirrors correctly based on whether you're set as right- or left-handed in your Profile.
What is Season Retrospective / Add Past Games? If you have dismissal patterns from before you started using Knockmate, you can log them in bulk as approximate frequencies rather than individual matches — these feed into your pattern analysis alongside your logged matches.
What is the Dismissal Breakdown? A Pro feature showing which bowler types and dismissal methods are getting you out most often, based on your logged matches and past-game entries combined.
Net Session builds a practice plan from your own dismissal patterns — recommending what to focus on based on how you've actually been getting out, with coaching cues and bowling instructions for your net bowlers. You can select which patterns to include, edit or dismiss individual recommendations, and save completed sessions with an outcome. Each card links out to a YouTube search for that specific technique.
Match Day gives you a quick pre-match summary of your top dismissal patterns, including a "Things to Remember" note focused on avoiding repeating your most common mistake — without dwelling on raw numbers. You can build a Net Session directly from what it shows you.
Fitness offers general conditioning exercises for every player for free, plus personalised programming based on your playing role and whether you're currently in-season for Pro users.
These exercises are for reference only — Knockmate is not a substitute for a qualified trainer or physiotherapist. Consult a professional before starting any new exercise programme, especially if you have an existing injury.
Available from the Season Guide when you're outside your season, Season Summary gives you a retrospective of your whole season — matches, runs, wickets, and your top dismissal patterns — plus a shortcut into building next season's practice plan.
From your Profile screen, tap Share Career Profile to generate a PDF summary of your career stats — matches, runs, wickets, batting average, and strike rate — titled with your name, ready to share.
Knockmate Pro is a one-time purchase, not a subscription — pay once and own it forever, including all future updates. Pro unlocks: unlimited bats, full Dismissal Breakdown, Net Session, Match Day, personalised Fitness programming, Season Summary, heatmap zone editing, the Machine Knocking Logger, and the PDF Preparation Report. Free users can still add up to 2 bats and use all core bat prep and match logging features.
What is the Season Guide? The Season Guide shows you when cricket season runs in your country, based on data from 80+ countries, and tells you whether the current month falls within your season — helping you plan when to start preparing your bat.
My country's season is incorrect. Please contact us at [your email] with your country and the correct season dates and we'll update it in the next release.
Where is my data stored? All data — your bats, sessions, heatmap zones, matches, and profile — is stored locally on your device only. Nothing is uploaded to any server or shared with third parties. Your profile information is used only to personalise your bat care, performance tracking, and fitness recommendations within the app.
What about the reports I share? The Bat Preparation Report and Career Profile PDF are generated on your device. They're only sent anywhere if you actively choose to share them using your device's own share sheet — Knockmate doesn't send them anywhere on its own.
How do I reset my data? From the home screen, you can export a backup of your data before resetting, then reset everything — or delete an individual bat from its profile screen, which removes that bat and all its sessions. These actions cannot be undone.
Does Knockmate work offline? Yes — Knockmate works entirely offline. No internet connection is required for any feature.
What permissions does Knockmate need? Microphone (for knock detection during sessions), Camera and Photo Library (for bat and match photos, optional), and Notifications (for prep and match reminders, optional).
The app is crashing or not loading. Force close the app and reopen it. If the problem persists, delete and reinstall the app. Note: reinstalling will delete all local data, so export a backup first if you can.
The mic shows "Mic error — restart app". This means the microphone couldn't be accessed. Force close the app and reopen it, and check Knockmate has microphone permission under your phone's Settings → Privacy → Microphone.
My session data isn't saving. Make sure you tap Finish at the end of a session rather than closing the app directly — only completed sessions are saved to your history.
The heatmap isn't updating after a session. The heatmap reflects cumulative knock data across all sessions per zone. Make sure the session was logged against the correct zone.
Knockmate v2.0.0 — Cricket Performance Companion © 2026 Knockmate. All rights reserved