Wardy's awards

Ian Ward reflects on a thrilling finale to the domestic first-class season and picks his players of the year.

I don't think you could demand a more exciting advert for County Championship cricket than the extraordinary finale to the Division One season. You couldn't really have written a better script: four teams still in the hunt before the final round of matches and, in the end, Lancashire - chasing their first outright title for 73 years - chasing 489 to win on the final day at The Oval and coming so close to getting it. At times it was an arduous season because of the weather, but ultimately the rain helped to condense both relegation and championship issues into a short space of time, which made for such an exciting finish. At the end of it all, Sussex claimed a second straight crown and a third in five years, and you have to say - as is always the case over a whole season - that the best team won. Their consistency reflects very well on captain Chris Adams and coach Mark Robinson, who took over following Peter Moores' departure for England. To retain the title is very, very tough - I was in the Surrey side which did it at the turn of the century, so I know just how difficult it is. The key for Sussex has been team spirit and a fabulous work ethic. They play together as a team, they have a gameplan which they are very comfortable executing and, when you throw in the camaraderie there is at such a tight-knit county you have a recipe for success. Then, of course, there is Mushtaq Ahmed. The leg-spinner has picked up another 90 wickets, and Sussex have benefited from having a top-class overseas player who is in the dressing room for a whole season rather than flying off to play in silly tournaments here and there. He is as much a Sussex man as anyone at Hove. Contrast that with runners-up Lancashire, who have had Brad Hodge, Muttiah Muralitharan and VVS Laxman at various stages of the season. All three are top, top players, but it is difficult to overstate the importance of consistency. In the Surrey team of 1999 and 2000 we had Saqlain Mustaq, who was an ever-present, and Azhar Mahmood was around for most of the time. A Murali or a Laxman in the camp for an entire campaign has a far greater impact than one there for just four or five games. People have claimed that, after so long without winning the title, Lancashire have something of a mental block. There may be some truth in that, but the way they performed on that final day suggests they have more than enough character to break the barren spell. With the likes of Dominic Cork and Stuart Law in the side, they have the belief as well as the talent. Getting over the line is a habit as much as anything and, once Lancashire acquire that habit, their rivals had better watch out. Historically they have suffered at the hands of the weather, and they did have a whole fixture at Worcestershire wiped out by rain this year. But the management agreed to the game being played at a flood-hit New Road, so they have to take part of the blame for that.

Up and coming

Division Two lacked the nail-biting quality of the top flight as champions Somerset and runners-up Nottinghamshire quite comfortably took the top two spots. Somerset certainly have the run-power to succeed next season, with the likes of Justin Langer, Marcus Trescothick and James Hildreth, who has had something of a breakthrough year. Coach Andy Hurry has also done a fine job, but the key to their chances could be whether they can keep Andrew Caddick and Charl Willoughby going. Both are sure to take wickets, but the Division Two champions may have to add a bit more cutting edge to their attack. As for Nottinghamshire, their yo-yoing in recent years will have taught them a lot, and they will be looking to challenge at the top rather than just consolidate. They won it in 2005 and they can be contenders again, but they will almost certainly be without Ryan Sidebottom for much of the time, and they will need more luck in keeping their bowlers fit than they had this season. To win promotion without the likes of Charlie Shreck, Mark Ealham and Andy Harris for long spells, as well as Sidebottom, was a great achievement. There are tough tests ahead, though, because a gap in quality between the divisions has definitely opened up.

Wardy's Awards Player of the year

It has been a year for the old guard, what with the performances of Ottis Gibson, Caddick, Mushtaq and Mark Ramprakash. Ottis won the PCA Player of the Year award, but voting took place before Ramps passed 2000 runs for the second season running. He is a friend of mine and I may be slightly biased but, for his statistics alone, Ramps would be my choice. To score 2000 runs at an average of more than 100 for two years in a row is a quite staggering feat, and one which I put down to his love of the game, his desire to score runs and his professionalism. Ramps may be 38, but why would you retire when your game is so sorted and you go to the crease with a clear idea of exactly what you want to to do and in the knowledge that you have the ability to do it.

Most promising youngster

Yorkshire's young all-rounder Adil Rashid has taken many of the plaudits, and by all accounts he has a big future, but I haven't really seen enough of him to make my own judgement. Others who have caught the eye are Hildreth down at Somerset, who seems to have learned from playing with Langer, and Sussex's young wicket-keeper Ben Brown, who impressed for England U19s but may find it hard to get a game at Hove over the next couple of years. But as far as emerging talent goes, my picks for the season are two lads from Middlesex - Steve Finn and Billy Godleman. Finn has all the ingredients to be an international fast bowler, and I would have to agree with Bob Willis' assessment that he will be an England player within two years. Godleman scored a brilliant hundred for the U19s against Pakistan and is another for the not-too-distant future.