MAJOR League baseball is set to come to the Oval in the summer of 2008. Senior administrators from Surrey County Cricket Club and Major League Baseball (MLB) have been in discussions about the feasibility of bringing America’s national pastime to England’s oldest Test-match venue.

A study conducted by MLB officials has concluded that the pitch is large enough to accommodate a baseball diamond, while the completion of the OCS Stand to increase the ground’s capacity to 23,000 has made the Oval a more attractive venue to host the first Major League game to be played in Europe.

Discussions had initially centred on an exhibition game and two regular-season games in the spring of 2007. But the inclement British weather prompted a rethink and the plan is now for a three-match series to be held around the Independence Day weekend in July 2008.

The games will count as part of the regular season and are likely to feature East Coast teams such as the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, the 2004 World Series champions. Further discussions will confirm the dates, the teams and the logistics of building a pitcher’s mound in the middle of a busy summer for cricket.

MLB is keen to visit London as part of a move to popularise the sport outside its home territory and pockets of enthusiasm in Asia.

The baseball season opened in Tokyo in 2004, when the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays played two games. Other regular-season matches have been played in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

A POLISH speedway rider has secured a new contract in the Elite League with Wolverhampton by agreeing to take English lessons. Krzysztof Pecyna had shown talent in his debut season but had failed to grasp the local language as effectively. Chris Van Straaten, the Wolverhampton promoter, said: “There were times last season when there were misunderstandings because of language difficulties. We told him the only way we would offer him a 12-month contract was if he learnt English properly and he readily agreed.”

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