| rdfs:comment | - An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment in a game of baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In many other sports, the length of the game is dictated by a clock and teams swap offensive and defensive roles dynamically by taking possession of a ball or similar item. In baseball (and cricket), however, one team, said to be "batting", attempts to score "runs"—see run—while the other team, said to be "fielding", attempts to prevent the scoring of runs and get members of the batting team out. The teams switch places after the fielding team has succeeded in getting three players out, making a clock unnecessary.
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| abstract | - An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment in a game of baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In many other sports, the length of the game is dictated by a clock and teams swap offensive and defensive roles dynamically by taking possession of a ball or similar item. In baseball (and cricket), however, one team, said to be "batting", attempts to score "runs"—see run—while the other team, said to be "fielding", attempts to prevent the scoring of runs and get members of the batting team out. The teams switch places after the fielding team has succeeded in getting three players out, making a clock unnecessary. In cricket, the term innings is also used to refer to the play of one particular player (Smith had a poor innings, scoring only 12). By extension, this term can be used in British English for almost any activity which takes a period of time (The Liberal government had a good innings, but finally lost office in 1972, or You've had a fair innings, now it's my turn, meaning "you have spoken for long enough, now let me speak"). It is also used in reference to someone who has died at a reasonably old age or lived a rich and rewarding life (Ah, well. John was 83. At least he had a good innings.). The baseball-derived parallel to this in American English is the term at bat. The term inning has been used in English since at least 1735; source: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. As cricket was a mature, highly organized sport in the 1600s in England (source: Wikipedia), the term's origin could well precede 1735.
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