London: An unbeaten 165 from opener Will Jefferson and a quick-fire 76 from Australia's Mark Waugh enabled Essex to clinch the Second Division title in the English County Championship with a seven-wicket win over Nottinghamshire.
Both sides were already promoted but went into the final day knowing a win would be enough for one of them to knock Middlesex off top spot. Essex began the day on 129 for two, needing another 211 runs to reach its target of 340, and Jefferson's career-best knock ensured the celebrations could begin shortly after lunch. Aftab Habib (57 not out) also contributed a valuable knock as Essex powered home at 343 for three in the 69th over. It was only Jefferson's second first-class century of the season, but it is probably the most significant knock of his career so far. Resuming on 129 for two with the match evenly-poised and 211 still required for victory, Waugh had lifted the side to 205 when the Test star top-edged a ball from Paul Franks to Jason Gallian at first slip. It was that decisive 135-run third-wicket stand which catapulted Essex into the ascendancy and ensured it returns to the top flight in style after suffering the ignominy of relegation last year. Although Waugh had departed - he struck 12 fours and had faced only 72 balls - Habib was soon able to slip into the groove and he had moved on to 57 not out off 73 balls, carving out eight fours to help steer Essex home. Going into this match third-placed, Nottinghamshire harboured title aspirations of its own, but it is Essex that collected the Pounds 40,000 ($ 62,000) cheque for this season's Second Division champions. Some consolation for Nottinghamshire lies in the fact that it is already assured of top-flight cricket next season, the last promotion spot already secured due to Worcestershire's failure to gather enough points in its final match of the season against Derbyshire. Jefferson clobbered 29 fours in his 214-ball stay at the crease and fittingly struck the winning runs to the long-on boundary off Paul Johnson, the Nottinghamshire batsman who is retiring from first-class cricket to take up a coaching role with the county. In First Division, Surrey claimed its third title in four seasons earlier this month before this week's final round of matches.
Tags: cricket, london, will jefferson, australia, mark waugh, essex, english county championship, nottinghamshire, middlesex, aftab habib, paul franks, jason gallian, nottinghamshire, worcestershire, derbyshire, paul johnson.
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