Worcester Park CC skipper Rob Waite held his hand up after a 140-run defeat to Esher and admitted they were not good enough against the in-form title contenders.
Park had been unbeaten in six Surrey Championship Division Two games, but on Saturday they came up against Esher seam bowler Kurham Irshad.
Irshad hit a 53 at number 10 to save the Esher innings, guiding them to 229, before taking 5-33 in skittling Park for 89.
Waite said: “We came up against a bowler in Kurham who was just too good for us, and they are a very strong side. It is no wonder they are top of the table.
“We have them in trouble with the bat, they were 83-7 at one point, but they had a couple of guys, including Kurham, who took them away.”
This weekend, Park, who slipped to sixth after the defeat, travel to Cranleigh – the team usurped at the top of the table by Esher.
“We know it will be a tough challenge, but we’re ready and prepared,” Waite said.
“We still have our destiny in our own hands, but we know if we lose the next couple of games the gap to the top will probably be too big.”
Worcester Park's Waqas Sagar could not break down the Esher lower order SP78034
Wicket-taker: Joe Hill took 1-38 in the Esher defeat SP78034
Almost two: Hill is just short of a caught and bowled snaffle SP78034
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