Frizzell County Championship
Norwich Union League

Knocking the County Championship is as traditional an English pursuit as fox-hunting, but back in April, the domestic game was under fire as never before. The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack had dismissed the entire set-up as an anachronism, and this opinion had been reinforced by the growth of the central-contracts system, and the emergence - and initial success - of the ECB Academy. The power in the English game had shifted inexorably away from the shires.

And yet, despite the final insult in September, when England's one-day side jetted off to Sri Lanka for the ICC Champions Trophy before the final round of Championship matches had even taken place, the 2002 county season was a notable success. Its defining feature were the fluctuating fortunes of two of the most illustrious clubs, Surrey and Yorkshire, although the two-division format, now into its third year, kept the season alive to the very final day.

For Surrey, 2002 was a particularly emotional year. Their season began in tragedy, following the death of Ben Hollioake in a car crash in Perth, but finished in triumph and a third Championship title in four years. Head and shoulders above their opponents, Surrey were at times a team possessed.

Under the fervent leadership of Adam Hollioake - who crashed back into the game in June, scoring 738 runs in just nine Championship matches - and underpinned by a batting line-up that included Mark Ramprakash, Alistair Brown and the inspired Ian Ward, who was the season's top run-scorer, Surrey won ten of their 16 first-class fixtures, and secured a return to the Norwich Union first division to boot. They were even involved in the one county fixture to make waves on a global scale - that extraordinary C&G tie against Glamorgan at The Oval in June, when 867 runs were scored in 99.5 overs. Surrey squeaked home by nine runs, after posting a world-record 438 for 5 - Brown's personal share being a modest 268.

If Surrey's season was a tale of triumph over adversity, then Yorkshire's was anything but. The 2001 champions had an unmitigated shocker from start to finish, plummeting to the foot of the table and relegation amid an unseemly chorus of infighting, backbiting and financial irregularities. The first signs of unrest came when David Byas made an improbable return from retirement - to join perennial rivals Lancashire - and from there it was downhill all the way.

"A strong Yorkshire is a strong England" may be the maxim, but in the current climate, the strength of the counties can be derived directly from their balance sheets. In that respect, with debts of £7million and rising, Yorkshire are not worthy of their place at the top table. Their victory over Somerset in the C&G Trophy was hard-earned, but scant reward for a season that should have been a consolidation of their elite status.

Instead, Yorkshire could only look on as Essex, Middlesex and Nottinghamshire passed them on the way up from the second division. Three-up, three-down may be a little excessive, but as of next season, the top flight will contain five of the six Test-hosting counties. They will be joined by Sussex, one of the more progressive and innovative counties of recent times; Essex, the giants of the early '90s, and the recent champions, Leicestershire. The cream, it seems, is slowly floating to the top. A notable absentee, although their ability consistently fails to match their ambition, will be Hampshire, who were relegated for the second time in three seasons. But with Shane Warne returning as captain next season, greater things will surely be in prospect.

A change at the top certainly worked wonders for Essex. Graham Gooch returned to Chelmsford as head coach, and with Ronnie Irani providing the on-field inspiration, Essex achieved promotion in both the Championship and the one-day leagues. It was Somerset who made way for them in both formats, as they crashed out of both the top flights.

And Bob Woolmer bowed out at Warwickshire with one last one-day trophy, to add to his bulging cabinet from the mid-1990s. Appropriately enough, his valedictory appearance at Lord's came during the last-ever Benson & Hedges Cup, and it was two names for the future, Ian Bell and Jim Troughton, who laid the foundations of a five-wicket victory. And, just to add the gloss finish, Warwickshire snuck their way to a slightly improbable second place in the Championship as well, by chasing 401 for victory on the final day of the season at Hove.

Andrew Miller is editorial assistant of Wisden.com

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