Yorkshire CCC are champions by 68pts

The bone-rattler from Leeds has a smattering of county fans in this final chapter of the 2015 county season.

A few of us weave our way up the back road and over the railway bridge en route to Headingley where Yorkshire lead Sussex by nearly 300 overnight.

Breakfast is a corner of Ugly Mugs cafe – for the princely sum of three quid – which proves a sound investment, admittedly, the toast is limp but definite bonus points for sugar shakers on the tables.

It’s a shade before 10am and the Yorkshire squad are doing their routine drills with pickups and rocket throws into a tiny tent under the watchful eye of Anthony McGrath.

Richard Pyrah is manning one of the fielding stations, the transition from all rounder to the coach complete, while a cluster of fans hover at the hoardings for signatures.

After a guard of honour for Michael Yardy, the final rites to Yorkshire’s innings lasts a couple of lusty blows and just nine balls. Bresnan finishes with a batting average fractionally short of fifty.

Ryan Sidebottom shuffles into bowl; Brooks his new-ball companion, resplendent in orange-soled spikes, strikes first when Joyce edges a full toss onto his timbers.

Nearby, in the main Headingley auditorium-cum-press-box, the students are gazing at a slideshow in Stygian gloom with the shutters down, blocking out the temptation of the cricket.

Sussex slump to 43-3 a shade over the first hour. Brooks claims his 300th first-class wicket and doffs his cap after tumultuous applause on the boundary.

In one of the more random things to happen at a county venue, pictures of the lunch options across the road at Stumps restaurant are shown on the monitors inside the ground:

Bresnan bowls a nagging spell and Sussex teeter; five wickets down by the time the lunch trolley is wheeled into the press box.

The asparagus soup, kept warm by a device somewhere between a Bunsen burner and hot air balloon, wheezes and rattles.

At lunch, the Yorkshire members in the Long Room take it in turns to have their photos taken with the LV=County Championship trophy.

Sussex need the draw but after some early-afternoon stoicism, wickets once more tumble including Michael Yardy, whose dismissal off Rashid with an incredible catch by Jack Leaning at short-leg, brought a career to an end that has yielded 10,693 runs for Sussex.

The Yorkshire crowd, around 2,000 to hazard a guess, give Yardy a generous and sustained burst of applause while the Yorkshire fielders take it in turns to approach and congratulate him.

England’s legspinner is replaced by Lyth at the rugby stand end and, to prove that the midas touch is very much with Gale this season, it immediately does the trick with a misjudged sweep adjudged LBW.

Rashid returns to the action at the pavilion end and not long after, the umpire’s finger goes up and Sussex are relegated after losing by 100 runs.

After the surprise defeat at Lord’s, it is back to business as usual. That the champions recorded their eleventh win of the season and ended a whopping 68pts clear will take some time to digest. Emphatic doesn’t even cut it.

This was the third title celebration by Yorkshire, after finding out during the loss at Lord’s then victory at Southampton but today was all about the home fans who lapped it up.