Farnham CC 1st XI secured Division II status on Saturday and with that blew the league champions away with a rampant display of bowling from Nathan Thorpe in what was Camberley’s 1st defeat of the season in the 50 over format.

Tom Grimes, captaining Farnham for the final time after 7 seasons at the helm and with a full-strength side for the first time since June, lost the toss and Farnham were asked to bat by Camberley skipper Elliott Green. Guy Hicks and the returning Nathan Thorpe approached the start of Farnham’s innings with caution on what was a challenging wicket following the heavy rain mid-week. Hicks, struggling for form in recent weeks, was bowled by opener Holden for 3 which brought wicket keeper Jamie Strachan to the crease. Thorpe and Strachan battled hard and began to build a base for Farnham until Strachan was caught at mid on for 10. At 38-2 Vice Captain Jim Berry joined Thorpe and the two began to build Farnham’s score by punishing the bad ball and running well between the wickets.

The two departed in quick succession, Berry first caught behind by Camberley’s overseas pro Lauchie Johns for 18 and then Thorpe LBW sweeping ex Northants spinner Farhaan Khan for a well-made 36.

Captain Grimes and Tom Flack then came together and built real momentum in the Farnham Innings putting on 60 together, Flack playing the aggressor and Grimes turning the strike over well and using his innovative batting style to great effect. Flack drove, swept and slog swept well putting the Camberley bowling to the sword before being caught off the bowling of Elliott Green taking the attack to the opposition towards the end of the game.

Skipper Grimes took Farnham over the 150 mark but in the end the team lost 5-19 with the team dismissed for 159.

With 3 of the Camberley top 4 batters of varying professional status, Farnham knew they had their work cut out and it wasn’t long before kiwi Johns took the attack to Farnham with a lusty blow for 6 towards Verran Road, Goldsworthy had the better of him very quickly though and had Johns well caught at cover by opening partner Dominic Lloyd. Goldsworthy soon had his second with Glenn Taylor hitting out to mid off where the waiting Luke Griffiths took a good catch to his left.

At 40-2 Griffiths himself was introduced to the attack and rewarded his skipper by having Todd Hutcheson brilliantly caught by all rounder Russell Golding at gully for just 11. He then bowled Josh Halsey 2 balls later and Camberley were reeling at 44-4.

Skipper Grimes introduced spinner Nathan Thorpe who promptly found his line and length, bowling with superb discipline to frustrate Camberley batters Khan and Griffiths, despite this the pair batted sensibly putting on 35 together before Griffiths was adjudged LBW to Thorpe for 23. Thorpe then proceeded to dismiss the lower order trio of Holden, White and Carter all bowled for single figures with only Khan showing any sign of patience or resistance to Thorpe’s onslaught.

At 128-9, with Farnham needing just 1 wicket for victory and to confirm Division II status for next season, and Camberley needing 32 for victory the game was on a knife-edge. Grimes introduced Berry to the attack and after his first over going for just 3 runs Nathan Thorpe came on to bowl the final over of his allotted 10 with 4 wickets to his name.

Khan took a single off the first ball of the over, turning the strike to skipper Green who duly blocked the second for a dot and made a well taken single of the third ball before Khan blocked the fourth ball of the over. With the crowd on the edge of their seats and the travelling Farnham supporters on tenter hooks Khan over-balanced whilst missing a huge slog sweep allowing the ball through to Jamie Strachan who broke the stumps before Khan had a chance to return to his crease to end the match and seal Farnham’s Division II status amidst jubilant celebrations both on and off the field. Thorpe ended his spell with a match winning 9.5 overs, 5 wickets for 25 runs with a very proud family in Grandfather Geoff, Dad Alan, Mum Theresa and fiancée Mollie all cheering from the boundary. Farnham were also well supported on the Day by Club President Patrick Strachan and ex President Andrew Kieft.

Commenting after the game, skipper Grimes said “I’m really proud of the lads today, this was a really well-rounded team effort against a high quality Camberley side. Each member of the XI today played their part be it with bat, ball or in the field and that’s what got us over the line today and will continue to stand us in good stead in the future.”

Additionally, Club President Patrick Strachan had this to say about the side’s performance and in particular Tom Grimes’ captaincy over the last 7 years “today marks a famous victory against local rivals Camberley CC in a hard fought match nearing the end of another long season for Farnham Cricket club and I send hearty congratulations to Tom and the team in wrapping this victory up against an excellent Camberley side” Strachan went on to say “I’d also like to take this opportunity to recognise Tom’s contribution as 1st XI captain over the last 7 years and thank him for his considerable efforts both on and off the pitch”