ASTWOOD Bank captain Alex Robinson blamed a poor Lord's wicket after his side went down to a 67-run defeat against Shipton-under-Wychwood in the final of the National Village Championships on Sunday.

But Robinson, who made 16 runs, was full of praise for all the players and especially the fans who followed Bank's incredible Lord's journey since it began.

He said: "We started off slightly nervous on Sunday but once we had settled we were a lot better. There was a lot of pressure on the day and that's why I decided to field first.

"I though if we get all the team out in the middle and we start with what we're best at, which is fielding, it might clam us down a bit.

"Once we did that I thought we controlled the game and, at lunch, we had taken the pressure off ourselves and put it all on them."

The Sambourne Lane side got off to a flier and kept the holders of the competition to just 146 for nine off 40 overs knowing a good batting performance would all but win the tie.

But the good batting performance did not come.

Robinson said: "It was just unfortunate when it came to the batting side. They did the basics right and bowled line and length.

"The wicket wasn't very good - it did break up a lot as we batted.

"It was an amazing experience and we should have beaten them on the day. We'll learn from it and hopefully next year we'll have enough experience to do it next year."

Mike Yapp, club secretary, said: "We're obviously disappointed in the result but everybody at the club - players included - had a wonderful day.

"I felt for nearly 75 per cent of the game we were in for a shout of winning. But losing three quick wickets at the start of our innings was a huge blow.

"I'm sure we'll be applying for the competition next year.

But after a conversation with organisers of the competition, Mr Yapp did say that there was uncertainty over the future of the competition because of funding.

He added: "The organisers did say the whole competition could be in doubt next year if sponsors weren't forthcoming, however they were determined to make it happen."

This year will certainly be going down in the history books for Astwood Bank after the club also finished third in the Worcester County League division two.