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Rounders - a Sport Like Baseball

Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams, popular in Ireland and the UK. It involves hitting a ball with a bat and running around a series of bases to score runs. The game features elements similar to baseball and softball but has its own unique rules and terminology.

a game of rounders at an orphanage in Cottesloe, Western Australia

The earliest reference suggests that the game was first played in 1744. In 1884, the rules were first formalized in Ireland by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Later the rules were formalized in Great Britain, where the game is regulated by Rounders England. The rules of the game differ in both the places.

There are a number innings in which one team does the batting while other does the fielding, and in the next inning it is vice versa. The bowler throws the ball while the batter strikes it.

Nine fielders are allowed in the field at a time. As the batter leaves a post, each runner at his post can run to the next post. If a post runner is standing at a post, he canned be declared as out. If a batting team is able to complete a circuit without being declared out then a rounder is scored.

If the fielder catches the ball, then the batter is declared out. The batter is also declared out if he reaches a base that is already stumped or the batter runs while the bat is dropped.

Similar Sports

• Brännboll — a Scandinavian game that has similarities to rounders, but with no pitcher.
• British Baseball — a bat-and-ball game played in Wales and England similar to rounders.
• Baseball — a bat and ball game in which the aim is to hit the ball and score runs by running around four bases.
• Softball — a sport like baseball though the ball is pitched underhand, played mostly by women. Variations include fastpitch and slowpitch.
• Lapta — a Russian traditional bat and ball game
• Pesapallo — a Finnish variation of Baseball, the major difference is that the ball is pitched vertically.

Related Pages

• Gaelic games, the traditional sports played in Ireland organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), include Gaelic Football, Hurling, Rounders and Gaelic Handball.
• Complete list of sports
• Sport in Ireland
• The Encyclopedia of Sports

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