RELEGATED Farnham, with nothing to lose, dented the promotion prospects of Leatherhead on Saturday, winning by a resounding 97 runs at the Park.
Leatherhead opted to field first in the Surrey Championship Division One fixture and it looked an interesting decision as openers Nathan Thorpe and Guy Hicks saw off the new ball and took Farnham to 90-0 at the halfway stage.
Thorpe was bowled by Mike Wakefield for 39 soon after and the leg-spinner continued to cause problems as Farnham slipped to 120-4, also dismissing Hicks for 44.
James Berry had got in, though, and continued his good form with an excellent half-century.
Wickets fell as Farnham looked to accelerate through the last 15 overs, but Berry held firm and when he finally went for 56 off 63 balls, the home team were just short of 200.
Wakefield finished with 5-30 from 10 probing overs, but Farnham’s 207 all out in 50 overs was a competitive score on a wicket giving the bowlers some assistance.
And Farnham got off to a great start, George Osborne having Simon Roberts caught at slip in the second over and then Rob Goldsworthy removing Mike Nicol, thanks to a brilliant catch by Toby Ward.
Osborne claimed two more wickets in a fine opening spell and first-change Berry got in on the act, Hicks taking a sharp one-handed catch at first slip as the visitors dipped to 63-5.
With Adam Dyson still there and looking solid, Farnham turned to spin and Thorpe snapped up two quick wickets, the second with a wicked delivery through bat and pad: 84-7.
Farnham, now using spin at both ends, tried to keep Dyson off strike and the ploy worked. Skipper Tom Grimes took two wickets in two balls and ended the game with a caught-and bowled. Grimes 3-10 and Leatherhead all out for 110 in 33.3 overs, with Dyson left stranded on 35 not out.
Farnham make the short trip to fourth-placed Camberley in their last game of the season this Saturday.