Tom Hanks buries his clean-cut image to be suitably disgusting as the baccy-spitting, hard-drinking, unshaven ex-pro coach of one of the first all-girl baseball teams, in this often entertaining comedy.

The girls got their chance in 1943 because of the lack of wartime manpower and, although at first the public stayed away in droves, the women's game inevitably threw up front-page stars of its own.

Tall Geena Davis is the team's ace catcher, Lori Singer as her kid sister is the pitcher, stand-up comedienne Megan Cavanagh the grim-looking star hitter and Madonna, of course, the team sex-bomb.

Though the film seems forced and artificial in its earlier scenes, especially in the performance of Jon Lovitz, it gradually wins you over in the familiar progression of its story to the final game.

There are too many characters here for the writers to sketch them in with any but the broadest lines.

But, although the film drifts on too long in its sentimental ending, there are enough poignant and funny moments - especially in the final come-uppance of the too-bad-to-be-true fat kid of one of the players - to make this league a winner on points.