It was a battle reminiscent of David and Goliath when a village cricket team took on some of England's finest sportsmen and won.

Ditchling, who play in the East Sussex league, took on a formidable roll call of international stars yesterday, assembled by TV presenter and village resident Jamie Theakston.

The celebrity line-up, which read like a Who's Who of cricketing fame, included current and former England players Alec Stewart, David Lawrence, Ronnie Irani, Alex Tudor, Devon Malcolm, Graeme Swann and Ed Giddins, bolstered by the muscle of England rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson.

Sussex cricketers, including James Kirtley, also put in an appearance.

They were joined by Jamie himself - a cricket fan who was born in Ditchling and has played for the village team since he was 15.

Jamie explained the fixture was the result of a booze-fuelled bet between himself and Ditchling skipper Patrick Nolan in their local pub, The Bull.

Speaking before the match, Mr Nolan played down the prospects of his amateur side troubling the Invitation XI.

He said: "We've got no chance of beating them at all if they tried hard.

"It's as if we were playing football against David Beckham."

But having bowled out the visitors for 168 runs, hundreds of stunned fans watched as Ditchling went on to clinch the match, scoring the winning run with a six in the last over.

"It was extremely exciting," said Mr Nolan afterwards.

The skipper said the visiting pros, more accustomed to international tests, seemed to have taken the match seriously but might have found the village field hard work.

After the match most of the players retired to The Bull for celebratory drinks. It is hoped the fixture will become an annual event to give a boost to Ditchling's cricket scene.