1. One more for Moores

After beating Surrey at at the Oval, Nottinghamshire returned home to Trent Bridge with one of sport’s trickiest assignments – maintaining momentum after the emotional victory.

Wisely (he seems to have plenty of wisdom for a man still in his 20s, much of it born in adversity no doubt), Haseeb Hameed didn’t risk 50 for six at lunch, inviting Warwickshire captain Alex Davies to wear his batting pads and tossing the ball to his opening bowlers, Mohammad Abbas and Brett Hutton. They have more than 300 first-class matches between them and knew the job at hand.

The next morning, Hameed himself knew his job. If he could make a century, Notts would likely gain a first-innings lead and test Warwickshire’s resolve. When he left the crease with 122 to his name, the deficit was just 30 and not all the late order were going to fail. They didn’t. Kyle Verreynne and Liam Patterson-White added 110 at a run a ball, taking the game away from the visitors.

With the title secured with a bonus point during that stand – always slightly anticlimactic but try telling that to the local fans – the win came on day three, making it seven wins from 14 matches, two more than any rival. It was a team effort, with eight batters who played at least 10 matches averaging at least 33 (all at strike rates between 52 and 62 – interesting that) and seven bowlers taking at least 20 wickets.

But one man doesn’t appear in those tables. This was Peter Moores’ fourth pennant with a third county (after two with Sussex and one with Lancashire). Like his captain, he’s had two attempts with England and it didn’t work out. But, like his captain, he was only down, not out.

2. Albert cues up Chahar

Speaking of down but not out, Hampshire have suffered plenty this month, with defeats in the T20 Blast and One-Day Cup finals. It was suboptimal then, after taking the hit of a much-delayed points deduction for a substandard pitch, to look up and find themselves in a fight for their lives in the tangled mess at the bottom of Division One.

All seemed fine against a weakened Surrey team in the first innings but the visitors were stronger second time round, with Ralphie Albert (snooker player Jimmy White’s grandson) top-scoring on his debut with 63.

There was a sting in the tale of Hants’ topsy-turvy season. Surrey drafted in Rahul Chahar (possibly a week too late) and the Indian spinner took eight wickets as Hampshire lost by 20 runs.

3. A second sting in the tale

Eyes turned to Headingley where Yorkshire, now safe after Hampshire’s defeat, could slide into the flip-flops and wait for the 5pm handshakes. To avoid the drop, all Durham had to do was bat out the last day, knowing that once their total past 129, they were in credit and those runs would have to be made by Yorkshire for the win.

Nobody seemed to have grasped that fact, the cliche telling us that runs holding a lead “count double”, as Durham lost captain Alex Lees in the 26th over with the score on 29 for two. That was merely the precursor to a truly calamitous spell of 12 overs in which eight wickets fell for 28 runs, George Hill and Dom Bess the destroyers.

The revolving door of the dressing room had become a trapdoor to Division Two and Durham were goners, Hampshire saved. At either end of the country, fans could not quite believe what had happened.

4. Things are looking up on the south coast

Aside from the champions, Sussex are Division One’s big overachievers, signing off with a fourth win of the season to take them fourth in the table – with Warwickshire and Essex also on 172 points.

Centuries for James Coles and John Simpson (what a signing he has been) set up Ollie Robinson to do his thing with 11 wickets in the match. The big but fragile seamer is pushing up towards 500 first-class victims at the McGrathian average of 21.59 – he comes with baggage but he also comes with a guarantee of wickets.

To their credit, Worcestershire fought hard, taking seven wickets as the visitors stumbled towards the measly target of 61, the admirable Tom Taylor grabbing his second four-wicket bag of the match.

As Worcestershire do, they’ll knuckle down to make the yo-yo work next season with a promotion, but Sussex can look forward to a second season in the top flight, perhaps reaping the reward of playing all those kids in the Covid season.

5. Gloom at Canterbury and Manchester

Lancashire and Kent managed just four wins between them last season as they were relegated to Division Two. It took a win in the last round of matches for Lancashire against promotion-happy Glamorgan for the dismal duo to improve upon that record in the lower flight. Lancashire finished in the bottom half and Kent were last, a pitiful 29 points adrift after concluding their season with absolute paddling from Derbyshire.

Does that show that there isn’t much to choose between the divisions and that you’re almost as likely to be ambushed at Bristol or Northampton as you are at Taunton or Birmingham? Or does it tell you that clubs that are poorly managed produce poor results?

Kent lost eight points in July for a fourth disciplinary infraction of the season and Lancashire’s grumbling membership have moved votes of no confidence in recent weeks. Dissent towards the umpire and trouble in committee rooms do not necessarily affect players, but dysfunctional cultures do have an impact.

The fans of these two grand old clubs deserve much more in 2026. If the current leaders on and off the field can’t deliver it, they should get out of the way and let someone else have a go.

6. So long, farewell, goodnight

The County Championship season is concluded and, glory be, will return with its 14 matches in 2026, an imperfect structure, but surely the best we can hope for in the short term. Let’s face it, in the medium and long term too.

It’s been my privilege to write about it. While crowds on grounds can look a little lost among the empty seats, many, many more follow the YouTube streams, which are now more professional than ever, with local commentaries, and enjoy a global reach.

There’s a case to be made that English domestic first-class cricket has a place in more people’s summers than at any time in its history – more modest than when Denis Compton and Bill Edrich raised spirits after the second world war, but there all the same.

Finally, as a writer who covers cricket and theatre, I need two constituencies – the makers and the readers. So thanks to the players, coaches, staff the volunteers at the counties. And thanks to you for reading and commenting, adding so much to this wonderful game of ours. Well, it’s ours for now …