FARNHAM clinched an immediate return to Division One of the Surrey Championship in the final round of matches on Saturday.

Having gained the win they needed at Chessington, thanks to a bravura batting display, Farnham were given a helping hand by both Camberley and the weather. The champions amassed an unbeatable 340-5 against Esher, the other promotion hopefuls, who then slumped to 48-5 before the game was abandoned.

It was a win or nothing for Farnham and, with the forecast ominous, they needed to restrict Chessington to something speedily gettable after the home side had elected to bat on good-looking wicket.

Rob Goldsworthy gave them the start they wanted, having Karl Thorne sharply taken at slip by Guy Hicks with his fourth ball and not a run on the board. Matt Alldis hit a straight six in the same over and picked off two more boundaries before leaving a straight one from Goldsworthy and having his off-stump knocked back. Chessington 23-2 in the fifth over.

Talented youngsters Prince Singh and Harli Givvens then got stuck in and rebuilt the innings with a fine partnership of 102.

Tom Grimes rotated his bowlers and Givvens, soon after reaching his 50, misjudged a Chris Terry ‘slider’ and was bowled.

Singh and Adam Lawrence added a further 52, but Farnham stayed calm and Chessington failed to accelerate in the middle overs. Lawrence fell to occasional bowler Jamie Strachan and, next over, Singh was trapped lbw for 75, Ciaran Rooney gaining revenge for some earlier punishment.

Chessington were eventually held to 222-7 in their 50 overs. Goldsworthy bowled his 10 overs straight off, taking 2-39, while Terry strangled the batsmen at a crucial stage, conceding just 26 runs from his 10 overs.

With reports of the rain back in Farnham heading towards Chessington, the visitors could not afford to hang around and Joel Walker and Guy Hicks got them off to a blistering start. Hicks, in particular, took a heavy toll on the bowling with trademark powerful drives and the pair raced to 88 before Walker was stumped going for another big shot.

The young and forceful Toby Ward immediately went on the attack, combining innovative sweeps, flicks and dabs with raw strength. Hicks continued to accelerate at the other end and the pair put on 120 in a very entertaining partnership.

Hicks, Farnham’s senior batsman, reached his century from 90 balls, hitting 13 fours and three sixes – one an immense blow over long-on – while Ward’s 62 came off a mere 49 balls and contained 12 fours.

The tension rose as Hicks, straight after reaching his ton, tried to heave Singh for another boundary, and missed, and Ward’s innings also ended with an air shot at the same bowler as he tried to end the game in style.

The rain had arrived by this time, but with just two runs needed, the umpires decided to see out the game. A wicket-maiden was not what was anticipated, but the winning runs came in a soft way in the 35th over as a ball from Lawrence slipped down leg-side for two wides.

Farnham had won by seven wickets with 15 overs to spare

Attention turned to Twitter and other social media and after seeing the scores at Camberley, Farnham knew they had pulled it off. Within 10 minutes of each other, the 1st XI and 2nd XI had promotion confirmed and the Park pavilion later saw its biggest celebration for many years.