Back in the old days, like let me count around 25 years ago, I used to play this game of rounders with friends in the primary school front yard. My school that time was the Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Kampung Likas, Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It was actually my second school after Tanjung Aru Primary School near the current Terminal 2 Kota Kinabalu Airport. The Air Asia Terminal as I call it. My family move around a lot. There, another of my secret backgound.

Anyway, back to the game of rounders. Well, I cannot remember exactly how it had been played but I think this game were played in a group of more than six people. Like three people to each team or more. Sometimes the other team has more people in the group simply because our team has the experience and thus disadvantage to them or vice versa. Moving on to how this game played. The game need one bat or anything similar, I remembered we even used our shoes, yes school shoes as the batting equipment, one tennis ball and 3 markers. Markers in a form of tires, shoes again, or just about anything that can be represented as the stopping ground. I do not know how to explain this. I hope you all understand. Obviously, my english term is not that good.

Alright, it is like the [tag]baseball[/tag]. But this type of baseball you do not need to buy the baseball tickets to see it. It is free and everyone can join in. Now, one guy from the other team throw the ball at you, under arm they call it. If you are the hitter, you have to hit the ball by not missing it three times. If you hit the ball high, meaning not to the ground, make sure it will not be caught by hand by the other team. If they caught it, you out and the next hitter is your other teammate until all done. After you hit the ball, you have to run or walk, up to you, to the first marker, second and third and finally back to your base. Your objective as the hitter is to hit the ball far far away and be safely reached all the markers or touched all the markers by stepping on them and back to your base without being hit by the tennis ball from the other team. Now the other team’s job are first to catch the ball while on air, if that is not possible, you have to get hold the ball and touch the other hitter team body before he reach any of the marker. there is no rule saying that you cannot throw the ball at the hitter’s body. So, this game can sometimes turn ugly when, imagine, the ball hit your face at full force. I have my fair share of this and it always end up we kids on the ground, beating each others face and bodies with our hands. LOL. That is why I remember this game very much. Not because of the way it was played, but the way it end up. We always end up at the Headmaster’s office and later at football field standing on the chair, right in the middle of the field, under the sun. Maybe that is why all my primary school picture, all tanned. LOL.