Boat comes in for Shipton

Shipton-under-Wychwood, in Oxfordshire, joined a select band of sides when they retained the National Village Championship.

Shipton, who beat Elvaston in last year's final and were also runners-up in 1997, beat Astwood Bank, from Worcestershire, by 67 runs. In doing so, they became the eighth side in 32 finals to win the title more than once. Two other villages with no less evocative names - Troon and St Fagan's - have been victorious three times. Astwood were already part of the championship's history having participated in the very first final in 1972, with several members from that side present at Lord's.

Shipton exhibited skills that were altogether more refined than one expects in bucolic cricket. This latest achievement came about in spite of Astwood winning the toss on a pitch sited invitingly close to the Tavern boundary for any batsman favouring rusticity. They managed to restrict Shipton to a total of 146 for 9 in 40 overs, which, after Steve Bates and Jason Constable had put on a rapid 63 for the first wicket, was no mean feat. However, Astwood were then bowled out for 79, despite a steady opening partnership of 31, with the last five wickets falling without addition to the score. No Astwood batsman contributed more than 17 in what, quite apart from the short boundary, were ideal batting conditions.

The fact that MCC waives a charge for admission - it does not do this for any other match at Lord's - tells of the affection that exists for the competition. Shipton's side once was comprised of farmers who had to suspend their fixtures while the harvest was gathered in and then, no doubt, turn out en masse again when stumps were pitched. Times change, of course, and their current side features a company director, a systems manager, a civil servant and even a groundsman with a double-barrelled name. The overall standard of the competition can only have improved but, thankfully, age and girth are no barriers to selection. Phil Garner, now 57, was not playing for Shipton only because he had broken his collar bone in the semi-finals. There were two or three participating who would have had no empathy with cricketers who go in for bleep tests. And as for Sam Mendes, the Oscar-winning director of film and theatre, who played for Shipton in the 1997 final, his appearances this season have been curtailed only through commitments to stars of a bigger stage (including Kate Winslet, his wife).

Astwood, even though their batsmen struggled to hit the ball off the square - only four players reached double figures - can take considerable pride in successfully establishing a strong junior section of the club in the 1980s, before football took its inexorable grip. The club, financed in the 19th century by the needle industry, also had to contend with a fire which totally destroyed the wooden clubhouse and shed, surviving only through numerous fundraising events.

So the loss of their last five wickets without a run made for a sad finale. Chasing a target, which they had set themselves to do, was of scant advantage. Nine of their wickets were taken by Paul Snell, a former rally driver, and Chris Panter, who in the final last year took wickets with his first two balls. This time, they conceded 50 runs between them. The match was concluded in a flurry of hoicks, flying stumps, the inevitable run out and no recriminations: a finale that perfectly encapsulated the joy of the village game.