Essex County Cricket Club have won their first County Championship title since 1992.
Ryan ten Doeschate’s team put themselves on the brink of glory when they trounced Warwickshire by an innings inside three days at Edgbaston.
But after their eighth victory of a remarkable season, Essex had to wait for second-placed Lancashire’s failure to win away to Somerset to be confirmed before they could start celebrating the silverware.
Lancashire duly lost by seven wickets at Taunton on Friday morning, and Essex have therefore completed their task with two matches to spare - in their first season back in the top flight following promotion from Specsavers Division Two last summer.
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It is their seventh title, all their previous successes coming between 1979 and their last one in 1992 when they retained the championship during the all-conquering years of England stars such as Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Derek Pringle.
The glory days have returned under Ten Doeschate and coach Chris Silverwood, the former England bowler who was promoted to his position for the start of the 2016 season and has immediately delivered back-to-back championship seasons in Division Two and then Division One.
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