It was the longest Championship season-stretching from 5 April to 29 September - finishing with Surrey easing to victory with one round to go and Sussex winning Division Two on the final day.
But how quickly things move on. Rod Bransgrove announced the sale of Hampshire to the Delhi Capitals co-owners before the Spin had time to pull the season's trophies out of the Guardian cabinet where they have been gathering dust since last year. So belatedly, and somewhat overshadowed by powerbrokers in important shoes rustling papers in mahogany boardrooms, here are the summer's County Championship awards.
The Mortimer and Whitehouse award for catch of the season
To James Bracey. An incredible match at Cheltenham College in early July finished on a pitch-perfect note as Glamorgan, chasing a world record of 593 to win, faced the last ball with a single needed for victory. The No 11, Jamie McIlroy, had a frantic swing at Ajeet Singh Dale and Bracey, with ungloved hand, leapt like a firecracker behind the stumps and held on before sprinting 50 yards to the boundary in celebration, his teammates a-leaping and a-hollering behind him. The most memorable tie in years.
The Harry Brook award for taking Test cricket in your stride
Esta historia es de la edición October 03, 2024 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición October 03, 2024 de The Guardian.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
City win 'will clear minds and souls,' says Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City's return to winning ways will \"clear our minds and souls\" as he insisted the Premier League champions will get back to their best after a welcome 2-0 victory at Leicester.
Haaland's bundle of joy gives Guardiola timely lift
It was not without the kind of faults that have become the norm of late, but Pep Guardiola finally rebooted his winning Manchester City machine in his 500th match in charge.
Liverpool's high five Slot shrugs off transfer talk as Reds go eight points clear
Arne Slot has said the January transfer window will not become a distraction from Liverpool's fine run of form or cause a loss of control in his relationship with his players.
Salah stars again as Liverpool rout hapless Hammers
With 54 minutes gone at London Stadium, Trent Alexander-Arnold took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch with time to wait and look up, the lack of pressure from the West Ham players almost a public snub, before spanking a deflected shot past Alphonse Areola to make it 4-0 to Liverpool and kill off once again a game that was already long since dead.
Eze seals comeback to leave Saints stranded
When Aaron Ramsdale swapped warming the bench at Arsenal for a relegation battle with Southampton, even the England goalkeeper couldn't have imagined it would be this bad.
Gibbs-White profits off 'farcical' Everton as Forest go second
Nottingham Forest continue their remarkable ascent under Nuno Espirito Santo. A club that was one place above the relegation zone when Nuno arrived 12 months ago climbed to second in the Premier League with a comfortable win against Everton.
Strand Larsen's late strike piles pain on Postecoglou
For Tottenham, a home game against relegation-threatened opposition ought to mean only one thing. Instead, there was a sense of foreboding before and during plenty of this one.
Iraola delighted by 'perfect' Ouattara strike
Andoni Iraola lauded Dango Ouattara's impact off the bench as he came on to score an 89th-minute equaliser in Bournemouth's draw with Fulham.
Wilder defiant after Grant levels and Blades falter again
When does a stutter become a stumble? After a first home defeat of the season against Burnley on Boxing Day, the Championship high-flyers Sheffield United dropped two more home points against managerless West Brom.
'Staying was easy. Manchester just feels like home'
Kerstin Casparij on her new City contract, Gareth Taylor's obsessive levels of detail and her excitement for Euro 2025
