Elle

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Game	Elle
Game Family	Baseball Baseball
Location	Sri Lanka
Regions	Rest of World
Eras	1800s, Contemporary
Invented	No
Tags
Description	A lusty baserunning game, Elle, is played in Sri Lanka. As of August 2020, Wikipedia has this general description of Elle: "Elle is a very popular Sri Lankan bat-and-ball game, often played in rural villages and urban areas. It 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." See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)#:~:text=Elle%20is%20a%20popular%20bat,the%20most%20similarities%20with%20softball. The article cites a source with the claim that the game has a 2000-year history, but notes that this has not been documented, and suggests that it may date from the 1900s. It is reportedly played by males and females, and town vs town matches have been common. 12 to 16 players comprise a team. In today's game, tennis balls are commonly used.  The batsman strikes a ball tossed softly by a teammate.   A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to elle in English was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".  The essence of this boisterous game is perhaps conveyed in Youtube clips: in Summer 2020, a Youtube search for <elle match sri lanka> returned about 20 such displays.  One unique feature is that a batter does not run bases;instead, a (usually barefoot?) teammate with a head start sprints around a circular path when a ball is struck.  Caught flies are outs, and runners reportedly can be retired if hit between stopping points.  Ceylon was a British colony, and it is tempting to suppose that elle evolved from a rounders-like game, but Protoball has not seem such speculation. Further information is welcomed.  A large Facebook presence reflects the idea that elle should be embraced as Sri Lanka's national game. A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to Elle was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".  We have seen other foreign-language elle videos on Youtube. Query: -- Can we locate a written list of playing rules for Elle? [see wiki source, below] -- Can we find a written history of elle? [see wiki source, below [ba   Allardice Score: 8 or 9?  From its Youtube videos, Elle may score the maximum score of 9: we cannot yet confirm that foul ground is used, that total runs scored determines the winner, or that written rules are found.  In Elle, the pitcher acts as a server, and is on the batter's team.  ]]
Sources	Introduction to the sport in English, cited above. Wikipedia article [search for "elle (sport)"], which cites as a source https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html Numerous Youtube videos, none seen to provide English commentary.
Source Image	[[Image:|left|thumb]]
Comment	The Chicago Inter Ocean, March 10, 1889, reporting on the Spalding Baseball world tour, says that in Colombo, Ceylon, they encountered natives playing a bat-ball game that involved soaking the runner, and looked very much like the old "town ball." The report speculates that this form of bat-ball is native to Ceylon, and predates baseball. Was this "elle?" And did this encounter prompt Spalding's later comment that throughout the tour he met with local bat-ball games, suggesting that forms of baseball evolved in many lands. John Thorn's "Our Game" blog, Jan. 30, 2023, mentions "elle" and has a old photo of what is probably a game of elle. See https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/whodunit-a-detective-story-302465f5d3cc  Edit with form to add a comment
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