WBat-and-ball games are field games played by two opposing teams, in which the action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe areas in the field to score points, while the defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to prevent them from scoring when they are not in safe zones. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are baseball and cricket, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.
WBaseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two opposing teams who take turns batting and fielding. The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball which a player on the batting team tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team is to hit the ball into the field of play, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate. The team that scores the most runs by the end of the game is the winner.
WBat and trap is an English bat-and-ball pub game. It is still played in Kent, and occasionally in Brighton. By the late 20th century it was usually only played on Good Friday in Brighton, on the park called The Level, which has an adjacent pub called The Bat and Ball, whose sign depicts the game. Brighton & Hove City Council started a Bat and Trap club based at The Level in 2013, as part of the Activities Plan associated with a £2.2m Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund-funded restoration of the park.
WBrännboll ; Brennball in Germany, rundbold in Denmark, brennball or slåball in Norway) is a bat-and-ball game played on amateur level throughout Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Germany, mostly on fields, sports grounds, and in public parks, but it is also part of the PE curriculum in some areas. The name is derived from the act of catching a player between two bases at the end of a batting round, referred to as "burning" them (bränna), roughly equivalent to being run out in cricket or out in baseball. The world championship, called Brännbollscupen, is an annual event in the Swedish city of Umeå.
WBritish baseball, or Welsh baseball, is a bat-and-ball game played primarily in Wales, but also with a strong history in Merseyside, England. It is closely related to the game of rounders.
WBaseball and cricket are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games. Both have fields that are 400 feet (120 m) or more in diameter, offensive players who can hit a thrown ball out of the field and run between safe areas to score runs (points), and have a major game format lasting about 3 hours.
WCorkball is a "mini-baseball" game featuring a 1.6-ounce (45 g) ball, which is stitched and resembles a miniature baseball. The bat has a barrel that measures 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter. Originally played on the streets and alleys of St. Louis, Missouri, as early as 1890, today the game has leagues formed around the country as a result of St. Louis servicemen introducing the game to their buddies and comrades during World War II and the Korean War. It has many of the features of baseball, yet can be played in a very small area because there is no base-running.
WCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striking the ball bowled at the wicket with the bat, while the bowling and fielding side tries to prevent this and dismiss each batter. Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching the ball after it is hit by the bat and before it hits the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease in front of the wicket. When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee in international matches. They communicate with two off-field scorers who record the match's statistical information.
WElle is a popular bat-and-ball game in Sri Lanka which is also a localised name for slow-pitch softball, often played in rural villages and urban areas. From modern-day sports popular around the world, Elle has the most similarities with softball. The game is played between two teams and the play scenario involves a hitter, a pitcher and fielders. The hitter is given three chances to hit the ball pitched at him or her. Once the hitter hits the ball with the bat – often a sturdy bamboo stick – the hitter has to complete a round or run which includes four possible "stoppings" spaced 55 metres (180 ft) apart. A strikeout happens if the hitter's ball is caught by the fielding side or if the fielding side is able to hit the hitter with the ball while he or she is in the course of completing a run. The hitter can stop only at one of the three stoppings in the round thereby paving the way for another member of his team to come and become the hitter. The side that gets the highest number of (complete) runs wins the match.
WGolf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
WKickball is a game and league game, similar to baseball. As in baseball, one team tries to score by having its players return a ball from home base to the field and then circle the bases, while the other team tries to stop them by tagging them "out" with the ball before they can return to the home base. Instead of hitting a small, hard ball with a bat, players kick an inflated rubber ball; this makes it more accessible to young children. As in baseball, teams alternate half-innings. The team with the most runs after a predefined number of innings wins.
WKnurr and spell is an old English game, once popular as a pub game.
WLapta is a Russian bat and ball game first known to be played in the 14th century. Mentions of lapta have been found in medieval manuscripts, and balls and bats were found in the 14th-century layers during excavations in Novgorod. It is similar to cricket, brännboll, Rounders, baseball, oină, it:Tsan (Italy) and pesäpallo.
WMiniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, goofy golf, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played on courses consisting of a series of holes similar to its parent, but characterized by their short length.
WOină is a Romanian traditional sport, similar in many ways to baseball.
WPesäpallo is a fast-moving bat-and-ball sport that is often referred to as the national sport of Finland and has some presence in other countries including Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada's northern Ontario. The game is similar to brännboll, rounders, and lapta, as well as baseball.
WRounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running around the four bases on the field.
WStickball is a street game related to baseball, usually formed as a pick-up game played in large cities in the Northeastern United States, especially New York City and Philadelphia. The equipment consists of a broom handle and a rubber ball, typically a spaldeen, pensy pinky, high bouncer or tennis ball. The rules come from baseball and are modified to fit the situation. For example, a manhole cover may be used as a base, or buildings for foul lines. The game is a variation of stick and ball games dating back to at least the 1750s. This game was widely popular among youths during the 20th century until the 1980s.
WTee-ball is a team sport based on and simplifying cricket, baseball and softball. It is intended as an introduction for children aged 4 to 6 to develop ball-game skills and have fun.
WVigoro is a team sport, played mainly by women in Australia, that originally combined elements of cricket and tennis, although in its current form it may be more similar to cricket and baseball.
WVitilla is a popular variation of stickball played primarily in the Dominican Republic and areas in the United States with large Dominican populations.
WThe game of Wiffle ball is a variation of baseball. The Wiffle ball is designed for indoor or outdoor play in confined areas. The game is played using a perforated, light-weight, resilient plastic ball and a long, typically yellow, plastic bat.