THE policy of charging admission for the National Village final at Lord's will continue, the MCC said today.

======STOP SUMMARY=====

Concerns had been raised about the low attendance -- a couple of hundred spectators -- for the final between Valley End and Woodhouse Grange on Sept 8. The reason was hard to pinpoint. It could have been the £6 charge on top of travel costs from Surrey and Yorkshire or the autumnal Monday fixture or even the dwindling appeal of the village ethos.

Clare Skinner, an MCC spokesman, said that there were charges for all matches at Lord's apart from non first class matches involving MCC teams. "The £6 entry fee does not cover the considerable costs involved in staging such a match on the main Ground at Lord's, which is heavily subsidised by MCC," she said, adding that the village game had not always been free of charge.

"Historically the Village Cup has not always been played on a Sunday. The fixture is scheduled to fit around an increasing number of major and county matches, which includes two Middlesex NatWest Pro40s, a Natwest Series match and the Friends Provident Trophy final on the preceding four Sundays. The only Sunday free in August was 10th, and the teams were not through to the final by this date. The same will apply next year."

Valley End won the final in a competition that attracted more than 400 entries this year, though there have been calls for a rule change. Increasing disparity in standards has been caused by Saturday players joining from premier league clubs to play in this Sunday knockout competition. The National Village Cup is sponsored by npower and organised by The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

CHARLIE SAYS: I can't believe the six-quid charge deterred followers from supporting their team.

Click on 'club cricket' to join the debate on village cricket and the thorny premier league issue.