English County Championship 2014: End of Season Awards

The 2014 County Championship drew to a close on Friday, bringing down the curtains on a campaign that saw Yorkshire crowned as Division One champions for the first time since 2001, while Hampshire earned promotion along with Worcestershire after topping Division Two. 

Possessing a formidable batting lineup and a versatile bowling attack, Yorkshire's romp to the title was completed with two weeks of matches still to be played, overcoming the strong outfits in Warwickshire and Sussex to further entrench the county's status as England's strongest. 

Hampshire's success in the second tier, however, was achieved more narrowly, edging out Worcs and Essex to return to the top division for the first time since being relegated in 2011. 

Across the following slides, we hand out the individual honours for the 2014 season. 

Match: Middlesex vs. Yorkshire at Lord's, Apr. 27-30

Innings Breakdown: 241 not out, 290 balls, 388 minutes, 37 fours

There were higher scores in the County Championship in 2014, but no innings was finer than the supreme knock of 241 not out from Chris Rogers in Middlesex's extraordinary fourth-innings victory over Yorkshire at Lord's. 

After capitulating for 123 in their first innings, the home side was set a mammoth target of 472 for victory across the game's final days—the sort of total chasing teams typically disintegrate in front of.

But the Australian veteran produced an exhibition of fluent stroke play, rattling along a strike rate of more than 83 to see the hosts home with an incredible seven wickets still remaining. 

Match: Gloucestershire vs. Leicestershire at the County Ground, Sep. 9-12

Innings Breakdown: 264 runs, 274 balls, 384 minutes, 38 fours, 3 sixes

Gloucestershire endured a difficult season in Division Two in 2014, finishing above only struggling Glamorgan and the vastly inferior Leicestershire. 

But one of the side's brightest days came on September 9, when Alex Gidman thrashed his way to 221 on the opening day of the clash with Leicestershire, going on to reach 264 on Day 2 as the hosts compiled a massive total of 646. 

In swashbuckling style, the right-hander reached that figure at a strike rate of 96.35, crunching 41 boundaries in the largest knock of the season. 

Match: Durham vs. Northamptonshire at Chester-le-Street, Sep. 15-17

Innings Breakdown: 12 overs, 2 maidens, 9 for 52

In the closing stages of the 2014 season, Chris Rushworth put together an incredible bowling display for Durham against Northamptonshire, destroying the visitors with nine wickets in just 72 deliveries to have them bundled out for just 83. 

Despite a rather benign surface, the overcast conditions perfectly suited the energetic right-armer as he consistently found movement from a good length, dismissing all but Maurice Chambers in a rampant display. 

Match: Durham vs. Northamptonshire at Chester-le-Street, Sep. 15-17

Innings Breakdown: 20 overs, 3 maidens, 15 for 95

Not content with obliterating Northamptonshire in the first innings, Chris Rushworth continued his exploits against the visitors as they followed on in the second, claiming a further 6-43 to take his match tally to an incredible 15 wickets. 

Deserving of a celebratory drink after such a performance, the 28-year-old was forced to restrain himself, having given up alcohol for a year in support of charity, per ESPN Cricinfo. 

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted at the minute," he said with a grin afterwards. 

County: Yorkshire

Key Stats: 15 matches; 971 runs @ 44.13; 2 hundreds

Alongside Adam Lyth at the top of the Yorkshire order, Alex Lees enjoyed a breakout season in the County Championship in 2014. 

Amassing almost 1,000 first-class runs, the left-hander edged out Jason Roy, Zafar Ansari, Lewis Gregory and Adam Riley for the official LV= Breakthrough Player of the Year award.

Exuding a cool confidence at just 21 years of age, Lees now looks to be in strong contention for a place in the England side. 

County: Nottinghamshire

Key Stats: 16 matches; 55 dismissals; 877 runs @ 43.85

A true veteran at 36 years of age, Chris Read enjoyed a fine season in 2014 as captain of Nottinghamshire, guiding his team to fourth on the points table in Division One behind the strong outfits of Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Sussex. 

Showcasing his typical excellence with the gloves, the Notts captain was also a consistent performer with the blade, compiling seven half-centuries as a sturdy No. 7 for his side. 

In fact, Read's most recent season reinforces the sense that his England career was far too short-lived, given that his batting stood as one of the reasons for his dismissal from the national team. 

County: Lancashire

Key Stats: 15 matches; 773 runs @ 33.60; 54 wickets @ 20.46

Edging out Warwickshire's Jeetan Patel and Yorkshire's Adil Rashid, Tom Smith is the winner of our all-rounder of the year award after a fine season in a struggling Lancashire outfit. 

Easily his side's most consistent performer, the 28-year-old's defiant approach with the bat and unerring accuracy with the ball saw Smith finish second on The Professional Cricketers' Association's Most Valuable Player Rankings for the 2014 season. 

As a reliable No. 7, the left-hander fought his way to seven half-centuries in 27 innings, also finishing the campaign as one of only eight men to break the 50-wicket mark in Division One. 

County: Sussex

Key Stats: 15 matches; 72 wickets @ 19.51; 4 five-wicket hauls

It must be acknowledged that Worcestershire's Saeed Ajmal would have claimed this award if not for his suspension for an illegal bowling action, given that the Pakistani claimed 63 wickets in just nine matches at an average of only 16.47.

But his suspension rules him out in our books, leaving the bowler of the year award to go to Sussex star Steve Magoffin.

With the loss of Chris Jordan to the England side, as well as a number of injuries, the Australian performed a Herculean job for the men from Hove, grabbing 72 wickets at a superb average while bowling a massive total of 539 overs. 

That not one player from Sussex completed even half of that workload only goes to demonstrate how incredible the 35-year-old's season was. 

County: Yorkshire

Key Stats: 17 matches; 1,619 runs @ 70.39; 7 hundreds

Despite an array of candidates that included Ed Joyce, James Vince, Gary Ballance and Chris Rogers, it was impossible to go past Yorkshire's Adam Lyth for the batsman of the year award. 

The leading run-scorer across both divisions of the County Championship, the left-hander played a leading role in his side's triumphant campaign, operating with remarkable consistency to tally seven centuries in only 24 innings—two of which were double hundreds.

Such a sparkling season will mean promotion into the England side can't be far away, particularly when one considers that Lyth is still just 26 and stands as a long-term solution to the national team's issues at the top of the order.