This note contains spoilers for the book.

Another Wrykyn story, but not containing Make or Psmith. And although the title object is in fact a cricket bat, the story is actually largely about rugby (though that word doesn't appear in the book; it's called football throughout).

Once again, academic interests are completely off the radar; nobody has the slightest interest. And this one actually has one casual mention of a beating—a prefect gives "six" to a boy who annoys him, treated as unfair by the author. I don't recall any other mention of physical discipline, and none of any administered by the adults. Which brings us back to the Harry Potter tradition, where apparently that doesn't go on. Given the backwards-looking wizardly tradition, I'm surprised.