On a remote jungle airfield in southern Nepal, the world’s most eccentric sporting event goes into extra time at a nail-biting five-all.

Within minutes, a giant elephant rumbles towards one end of the field and a cheer goes up from the crowd as a tiny white ball shoots between the goalposts, winning the game for the team from Switzerland.

This is elephant polo, a game that was dreamt up almost 30 years ago over drinks at a Swiss ski resort and now attracts adventure-seekers from all over the world to Nepal, where the world championships are held every year.

The game, loosely based on horse polo, involves two teams of four players sitting astride elephants driven by mahouts, or trainers, who drive them on using oral commands and pressure from their feet.

Players carry sticks up to 2.5 metres long to hit the ball towards the opposing goal, with each game comprising two 10-minute chukkas.

The umpire sits on the biggest elephant, a huge, long-tusked bull, giving him a bird’s-eye view of the game.

The sport attracts players of all ages and nationalities, with this year’s world championships won by a team led by 71-year-old Scotsman James Manclark, a keen horse polo player who invented the elephant version.

He came up with the idea in St Moritz over a drink with Jim Edwards, a pioneer of eco-tourism in Nepal who ran a resort called Tiger Tops deep inside the jungle that used elephants to take guests on safari.

Shortly after their encounter, Mr Manclark sent his friend a telegram that read simply: “Arriving April 1 with long sticks. Have elephants ready.”

“He didn’t know whether I was being serious or not. But I arrived, with the sticks and two small footballs, ready to play,” Mr Manclark said on the sidelines of the 29th world tournament, which ended on Saturday.