Durham and Surrey clinch County Championship titles
Durham and Surrey have won the two County Championship titles in cricket for 2023. Durham won Division Two and with it, promotion, whilst Surrey won their second Division One title in a row. Daniel Wales reports from Durham as they defeated Leicestershire and lifted the trophy.
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00:00 As the summer draws to a close, so does the domestic cricket season.
00:07 The 2023 County Championship saw its final round of fixtures this week.
00:11 At the Oval in South London, Surrey won their second Division 1 title in a row,
00:16 despite losing to Hampshire.
00:18 As title rivals, Essex did not manage any batting points in their loss against Northamptonshire.
00:28 Former England Test opener Rory Burns has now captained Surrey to three titles,
00:33 putting them second in the all-time table of County Championship wins behind Yorkshire.
00:39 Here in the North East, Durham were crowned Division 2 winners last week,
00:48 against Worcestershire, having already been promoted.
00:52 They had been demoted to Division 2 in 2016 due to financial difficulties,
00:56 despite having won the Division 1 title as recently as 2013.
01:00 This week against Leicestershire, they were hoping to wrap up their title with a win.
01:06 Durham worked their way quickly through Leicestershire's batting line-up in their second innings,
01:18 and had them eight down by lunch.
01:20 And despite a good partnership for the visitors' penultimate wicket,
01:24 it was Matt Parkinson of Durham who took the winning blow.
01:29 The players of Durham then made their way back down onto the pitch for the trophy presentation.
01:54 Captain Scott Borthwick left the trophy high in front of the backdrop of Lumley Castle.
02:00 Coach Ryan Campbell and Captain Scott Borthwick told me just what it meant
02:05 for Durham to return to the top flight of English first-class cricket.
02:09 I guess as a coach you always dream that when you come in you're going to make an impact
02:14 and the team can win.
02:16 But yeah, of course it's probably blown all expectations out of the players.
02:21 It's a very good cricket team and I think what you've seen is a very exciting brand.
02:27 It's only the start.
02:29 It's pretty special. I touched on it early on.
02:32 This is my third Celtic Championship win for the club.
02:35 Two Division 1s and today's a Division 2.
02:38 But I think this one feels a bit more special.
02:40 I think obviously being captain as well, but also getting us back where we belong
02:44 and back into Division 1.
02:46 It feels extra special and I think it's a bit more special
02:49 and it feels extra special and look, we've been outstanding all season
02:52 and to get that trophy today was amazing.
02:54 A season to remember for both Durham and Surrey
02:57 with both surely looking forward to the spring and getting started with the new season.
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