FARNHAM’S 23-run home defeat to Worcester Park on Saturday means that their chance of promotion is out of their hands going into the final matches this weekend.

Farnham now need champions Camberley to beat second-placed Esher, while winning at Chessington themselves, to have a chance of going up.

Tom Grimes lost the toss at the Park and promotion rivals Worcester Park flew out of the traps, with Rob Waite punishing anything loose.

Rob Goldsworthy and Ben Ungaretti soon put a brake on the run-rate and the breakthrough came at 35, but Waite went on to make an aggressive 86, well supported by Danny Palmer and captain Rob Hill before eventually falling to Josh Berry whose excellent spell helped ensure the visitors never really kicked on. They posted what seemed a very gettable 237-6.

Farnham struggled to build any sort of momentum on the greenish track and the top order was demolished by Jon Faller-Fritsch (4-34). They were on their knees at 50-5, still needing another 188 runs.

But a brilliant counter-attacking partnership between George Hellyer and Jamie Strachan gave them hope of an unlikely victory. Powerful hitting by the in-form pair brought the run-rate down to around four an over and left one Worcester fielder needing medical treatment for an injured hand.

Then, with the stand worth 119, Hellyer was adjudged lbw to Rob Hill for a brilliant 75 off 78 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Strachan soon followed for 58, dismissed by Gary Marshall’s stunning catch off Waite.

The double whammy put Worcester back in the ascendancy and although Mike O’Mahony resisted valiantly with 21 not out, Rob Hill and Waite plucked out the tail to leave Farnham all out for 214, with two overs going unused.