Summertime – and Newport’s playing fields resound to the thwack of bat on ball, but it’s not cricket. Baseball retains a foothold in one of the game’s heartlands. ANDY RUTHERFORD reports.

ON an overcast, muggy Saturday afternoon, a small but dedicated band of Newport’s baseball faithful pit their skills and wits against opponents from Cardiff.

This is Pill-based St Michael’s v St Alban’s, one of the capital’s six sides in Welsh baseball’s Premier League, at Newport’s Whiteheads sports ground.

Behind a nine feet high hedge, a game of bowls - the very apex of genteel sport - is going on.

Just a few metres away however, the action is faster paced, the focus on accuracy, speed, power and movement.

Baseball, British-style, is played most Saturday afternoons and some evenings during May-August, and has long been a feature of summer sport in Newport.

Time was - and it was not so very long ago - that baseball matches were a common feature in the sporting programme.

The then town was a hotbed of a sport that has always been focused in port cities, predominantly Liverpool, Cardiff and Newport, and their surrounding areas.

The Welsh Baseball Union-run league ran to several divisions until well into the 1980s, with Newport and Cardiff teams travelling twice and more a week to play each other.

This is a sport with its roots well back into the 19th century, when leagues operated in various parts of the UK, and when the words baseball and rounders were used to describe a variety of games with many similarities but a number of different rules too.

British baseball, as practised by clubs in Wales and England, has lots in common with its more famous American counterpart, but boasts a number of key differences, most obviously in the shape of the bat, and in the style of bowling. It is an 11-a-side game based on a two innings system that cricket fans would be familiar with.

The days when the sport could boast scores of clubs, and crowds several thousand strong watching the annual Wales v England internationals, are decades past.

Nowadays are there just two Newport sides in the men’s Premier League - the aforementioned St Michael’s, and Pill Harriers. The latter also have a side in the Welsh Ladies Baseball Union Premier League, and there are three other ladies’ teams from the city in that organisation’s second division.

But they are a very dedicated lot, passionate about their sport and determined in their efforts to keep it going.

Peter Sanders, secretary of St Michael’s, is a former footballer with Newport County, and a baseball stalwart, explayer and international, and a winner of a Services to Sport Award in Newport in 2007, in large part for his work in helping keep baseball going in the city.

Mr Sanders, who lives in the shadow of the St Michael’s Church that gives the 105-yearold club its name, says the challenges facing an amateur sport like baseball in Wales are stiffer than ever.

“Fees for pitches are going up, and you have to pay for referees and meet other costs. For amateur clubs it isn’t easy,” he said.

“The game isn’t as popular as it used to be, and not only in Newport.

“But it’s a great game, with a great tradition, you get generations of the same families playing, and those who are involved are very committed to keeping it going.”

On the field of play, power in the men’s game lies currently with Cardiff sides, with such as Grange Albion and Grange Catholics leading the way. But Carl Kemp, of Pill Harriers, said the Newport sides have the potential to challenge again.

“At Pill we have an under-16s team, and we have under-12s, under-14s, under-16s, a few players around 18-20, and five or six older players,” he said.

“It’s very important to keep bringing young players in, and we have a lot playing in the Premier League this season.

It’s a challenge, but it’s valuable experience and a great chance for them to learn.

“It’s a struggle at times getting teams out, especially during the week if people are working.

But we’re managing, we’re financially sound, and we have a good future.”

The Welsh Baseball Union currently runs an eight-team Premier Division, the league season running from mid-May to mid-July.

Ladies challenge capital for titles

PILL Harriers are currently flying the flag for ladies’ baseball in Newport, as the city’s only top flight side, challenging Cardiff sides such as Llandaff Ladies and Llanrumney United for honours.

Lisa Pinch, 44, has played for Pill for 26 years, since leaving school.

“A friend said they were starting up a team, and I’ve been playing baseball ever since,” said the proud holder of the record for the most runs scored in an innings - 60 against Whitchurch - an outstanding effort that has remained unbeaten for more than 20 years.

“We take it very seriously, it’s very competitive. But it’s fun as well, and the social side is fantastic.

“We’ve known each other for years and we’re a strong group, but it is important to keep bringing young players in.

“There are four teams in Newport in the league at the moment, and Duffryn Ladies is a new side, and we’ve been helping them out.

Some of us go into schools as well, to spread the word.”

In the women’s game, run by the Welsh Ladies Baseball Union, there is an eight-team Premier Division, an eight-team First Division and a seven-team Second Division, the latter containing Newport’s three other ladies’ teams. They are Malpas, who have been in contention for the title, Bettws and Gloden Girls.

Clash with England on July 13

AS well as Saturdays, baseball is played in Wales on weekdays, with evening matches making up a sizeable part of the fixture list.

There are also annual Wales v England men’s international matches, which alternate between venues in South Wales and Liverpool. This year’s senior international will take place in Liverpool on July 13, with the ‘B’ international coming to the Whiteheads Sports Ground, Newport, on Saturday, July 27.

The men’s game is Wales is run by the Welsh Baseball Union, which has a very informative website at welshbaseball.co.uk Information on results, fixtures and clubs are included, along with a short history of the game and in-depth articles on the sport and on its more famous American counterpart.

The Welsh Ladies’ Baseball Union, which formed in 2006 after splitting from the WBU, also has a website, at wlbu.co.uk