Longball
The new sport of Longball was created by David Reardon of London, UK in Christmas 2015. Longball is a bat and ball game of 2 teams of 10-a-side played on a diamond-shaped field 95 feet in length along each side (see picture below, which also shows the various Covering positions). (it's different from Danish Longball, a bat and ball game developed in Denmark)
Equipment Required: The equipment used is a standard length baseball bat and a tennis ball.
longball field Covering (i.e. Fielding) Team
The Hurler pitches the ball either as in cricket or underarm towards the Runner, and after throwing the ball he/she becomes the Field Cover. Once the ball has been hit by the Runner, each member of the Covering Team attempts to either catch the ball before it hits the ground (a Catch Out) or once retrieved throw it to the Cover of the Point the runner is running towards before the he/she reaches that Point (a Run Out).
This procedure is repeated until each member of the Running Team has achieved a Home Run (see below) or been caught/run out.
Running (i.e. Batting) Team
Each Runner tries to hit the ball as hard as possible and then attempts to run from the Home Point to the Field Point and back again without being caught or run out (a Home Run) or, if this is impossible in one go, to run to the Field Point only (a Field Run).
Should a Runner not hit the ball, an Away is called by the Home Cover, and three Aways count as a Dismissal meaning the next Runner must play. Each member of the Running Team takes their turn until all have made a Home Run or been caught or run out, completion of which is called a Term. However, if the last Runner is caught or run out before the penultimate has made a Home Run, the game is over. A maximum of 30 points is therefore available for each Term.
longball scoring sheet Scoring
A Home Run scores 3 points and a Field Run scores 1 point, which is converted to 3 points should the Runner complete a Home Run before being run out. If caught out before reaching the Home Point the batter keeps his/her score of 1 point for making a Field Run.
The total score for a Running Team is written, for example, as 8 and 3 for 13 (8/3 – 13). In this case, this would indicate a total of 8 Home Runs and 3 Field Runs.
Officials
There are 5 officials in attendance: 4 Marshalls and 1 Umpire (see Field Plan for their locations).
The Marshalls are responsible for ensuring that the game is played properly and fairly. The Umpire has the ultimate decision but will usually accept the word of a Marshall as to whether any call of an Away, Catch Out or Run Out is accurate. However, he/she may refer to a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) in disputed cases.
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Related Pages
- Other new sports
- About Danish Longball
- Complete list of unusual sports
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