Gaelic sports

Rounders

A bat-and-ball game between two teams, played since Tudor times and very popular in British and Irish schools.

Start a section
2 teamsBatting and fielding in turn
4 basesTo run round in order to score
1744First written mention

Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. It is a team game in which a small, hard, leather-covered ball is struck with a rounded bat made of wood, plastic or metal. Players score by running around the four bases on the field. Yes, it looks a lot like baseball. Rounders was in fact played in England from Tudor times, and it is mentioned in 1744 in the children’s book A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, where it was called base-ball. The game is popular with British and Irish schoolchildren, especially girls.

The game is built around a number of innings, in which the teams take turns batting and fielding. Points (known as “rounders”) are scored by the batting team when one of its players completes a circuit past all four bases without being put out. The batter must hit a good ball and attempt to run a “round” anticlockwise around first, second and third base before returning to fourth, although they may stop at any of the first three. A batter is out if the ball is caught on the full; if the base they are running to is touched by the ball; or if, while running, they are touched with the ball by a fielding player.

History

The game of rounders has been played in England since Tudor times, the first reference being in 1744 in “A Little Pretty Pocket-Book”, where it was called base-ball. In 1828, William Clarke in London published the second edition of The Boy’s Own Book, which included the rules of rounders as well as the first printed description in English of a baseball game played on a diamond. The following year, the book was published in Boston, Massachusetts.

The first nationally formalised rules were drawn up by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland in 1884. The game is still governed in Ireland by the GAA, through the GAA Rounders National Council (in Irish: Comhairle Cluiche Corr na hÉireann). In Britain it is governed by Rounders England, which was formed in 1943. Although the two associations are separate, they share similar elements of play and culture. Competitions are held between teams from the two traditions.

After the rules of rounders were formalised in Ireland, associations were set up in Liverpool, England and Scotland in 1889. The now-extinct “New York game” and “Massachusetts game” versions of baseball, as well as softball, share the same historical roots as rounders and resemble the GAA version of the game. Although forms of rounders are believed to be older than baseball, the literary references to early forms of “base-ball” in England predate the use of the term rounders.

Rules

Although there are differences between the rules set by Rounders England and by the GAA, they have a great deal in common. The pitcher, or “feeder”, throws the ball to the batter with an underarm pendulum action. Under the rules, a ball is considered “good” if it passes within the batter’s reach between knee height and the top of the head. Otherwise it is called a “no-ball” or “bad ball”. A ball is also considered bad if it is thrown at the batter’s body or outside the striking area. A batter may try to hit a bad ball but is not obliged to. A player is not out if a “no-ball” is caught on the full, and cannot be put out at first base following a “no-ball”.

When a batter leaves the post, each runner on a base may run to the next base, and so on. A runner on a base cannot be declared out while standing on the base. The runner must, however, stay in contact with the base to avoid being declared out. A round is scored if any member of the batting team completes a circuit without being put out.

In Ireland, the rules of rounders (in Irish: cluiche corr) are set by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The GAA rules are the first nationally organised rules of the game, formalised in 1884. It is played on a bigger pitch than the Rounders England game and therefore uses larger bats and slightly larger balls. A GAA rounders pitch is a square field of 70 metres (77 yd) with bases 25 metres (27 yd) apart. A “dead” zone runs along two adjacent sides of the field, with a home base at the intersection of those sides.

Three substitutes can be added to the list of fielding players during the game. A maximum of nine players are allowed at any one time. There is no limit to the number of batters a team can register.

The circumference of the ball (or sliotar) is 22.7 to 25.5 centimetres (8.9 to 10.0 inches) and bats can be 70 to 110 centimetres (28 to 43 inches) long and up to 7 centimetres (2.8 inches) in diameter. There is no limit on the weight of the bat. Bases are normally marked with temporary square mats, 64 cm (28 in) wide for home base and the pitcher’s stand and 46 cm (18 in) wide for all the others.

Each batter is entitled to three “good” balls. A batter must try to hit all the “good” balls that are thrown but does not need to run when hitting the ball. If a ball normally considered “bad” is hit, the ball is then considered “good”. If, on the first or second good ball, a ball is hit into the “dead” area, or if the ball is hit but there is no run by the batter, it is considered a “dead” ball and the batter or runners cannot advance. If a batter receives three bad balls, a “walk-on” is awarded and all runners advance one base. The batter may run on any ball except a dead ball. The batter is not allowed to drop the bat while running, on pain of being out (and any round scored being cancelled).

A batter is out if:

  • a fielder catches the ball on the full;
  • the batter leaves their base before the pitcher has thrown the ball;
  • on a third good ball, the batter fails to hit the ball and the catcher holds it before it touches the ground;
  • the bat is thrown or thrown in a dangerous manner;
  • on a third good ball, the batter hits the ball into the “dead” zone;
  • the view of the pitcher or catcher is obstructed a second time, after a first warning;
  • deliberate contact is made with a fielder carrying the ball;
  • the batter touches a base that has been “touched” by another fielder carrying the ball, in which case the batter must return to the previous base if it is still unoccupied;
  • the batter tries to occupy a base occupied by someone else (except first base, which must always be vacated to make way for the approaching batter).

Batters/runners must run in a straight line between bases and fielders must not obstruct their path or stand on the bases. Failure to comply is treated as unsporting behaviour and can lead to up to two rounders being awarded to the batting team or a batter being sent off. Normally, a batter cannot overtake another while running between bases, although there are exceptions to this rule.

Five innings make up a game, depending on the level of the match. Each team’s turn at bat continues until three outs have been made.

Rounders in France

This sport has not yet been developed in France. Interested? Get in touch!

Rounders still has to grow in France

This sport has not yet been established in France. Interested? Get in touch!

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