Going into the final round of the Rothesay County Championship with an 11-point lead, Warwickshire knew that if they avoided defeat against relegation-threatened Leicestershire they would most likely be crowned champions. However, the fact that their visitors were contesting the 27-point deduction they’d been given meant they had every incentive to ensure they did well so as to give themselves the best chance of survival in the top division. Having chosen to bat first, the away side were soon struggling at 47 for five, and only recovered to 125 all out, with Ethan Bamber taking four for 42. The hosts didn’t initially have it all their own way, as they were 86 for four at one point, but then Sam Hain (142) was joined by skipper Ed Barnard (88) as the pair put on 165 for the fifth wicket. They were eventually bowled out for 372, a lead of 247 to make defeat almost impossible. Leicestershire had no answer to Bamber (five for 52) and Woakes (three for 38) and made just 168 in their second innings to fall to defeat by an innings and 79 runs inside three days. The result meant Warwickshire were crowned champions, having lost only once all season, with seven wins.

Nottinghamshire’s extremely thin hopes of retaining their title were ended before the close of the second day, as Warwickshire secured sufficient bonus points to ensure even a victory would not be enough. At Trent Bridge, they were put in to bat by Yorkshire and ground their way to a sedate 251 all out in 99.4 overs, Ben Cliff taking four for 39. Olly Stone, with five for 51 (his fourth five-wicket haul in his last six games), continued his excellent form and was the main reason the away side could muster only 179 in reply. Nottinghamshire then tumbled to 85 all out in their second innings, with Jack White taking five for 23 and Ben Coad four for 27. A target of 158 didn’t feel like a lot, especially when the openers put on 54 for the first wicket, but after that the wickets began to fall steadily: 116 for four became 139 for eight. But fortunately Jonny Bairstow remained at the crease, blending defence with some big shots, and he led Yorkshire to a one-wicket victory, making 38 not out. On his 37th birthday, he scored the winning runs with a six over extra-cover, off a ball that could easily have been called a wide. Mitchell Hay of Nottinghamshire equalled the county record (set by Wayne Noon in 1999), with seven dismissals behind the stumps; with three dismissals in the first innings, he finished the match with a record-equalling ten victims, joining Tom Oates (1906), Bruce French (1984) and Chris Scott (1988).

Surrey travelled to Taunton knowing they could scupper any chance that Somerset might have of winning the title, and they chose to bat first. Dan Lawrence’s 139 was the main feature as they piled up a total of 422 all out, while Jack Leach took four wickets. By the end of the second day, Somerset were 222 for three, needing to do a lot in the final two days to put any pressure on Warwickshire. Although their result soon became academic, they certainly did their best to finish with a win: Tom Lammonby made 229, the best score of his career, but it was Tom Abell who went even further, scoring a career-best 307; he hit 31 fours and eight sixes, giving him 172 runs in boundaries, and took 407 deliveries to get there. It was the eighth highest innings in the county’s history. Together, Lammonby and Abell set a new Somerset fourth-wicket record partnership of 334 runs; Lammonby then shared a county record ninth-wicket partnership of 195 with Migael Pretorius (84). Somerset’s eventual total of 731 was the second highest in the county’s history, and the second highest score Surrey have ever conceded. Mahipal Lomror conceded 212 runs on the way to picking up four wickets. At 59 for four, it was possible Surrey might fold in their second innings, but they ended up reaching 127 for five when the game ended as a draw.

Essex remained vulnerable to relegation – especially if Leicestershire had any sort of success with their appeal. They travelled to Cardiff and asked Glamorgan to bat first, which turned out to be an error. Highly rated Asa Tribe hit 184 while skipper Kiran Carlson made 107 to help them up to 505 all out. In their final game, having announced their retirement beforehand, Billy Root scored 59 while Colin Ingram made 42. Zaman Akhter took five for 107. Essex had no reply to that and were bowled out for only 129, with Zain Ul Hassan taking five for 14, the best figures of his career. Unsurprisingly, Essex were asked to follow on, and in his final innings before retirement Dean Elgar made 108. Barely any play was possible on the final day, so Essex finished on 351 for six, the draw leaving them 25 points clear of Leicestershire.

Finally, at Southampton there was little at stake in the south coast derby after Hampshire had already been relegated. Sussex chose to bat first, and Jack Leaning made 78 out of their total of 244. Former Sussex star Ben Brown was the hosts’ best performer, but he could muster only 36 not out before his side was dismissed for 128 in reply, with Jaydev Unadkat taking five for 32. Tom Haines then made 130 to set Sussex on their way to 319 for nine declared, despite a career-best four for 98 from Andrew Neal. Hampshire needed 436 for victory but stumbled to 29 for five before staging something of a recovery to get up to 238 all out, beaten by 197 runs. Tom Price took five for 33. The win was Sussex’s seventh of the summer, and it took them above Nottinghamshire into third place.

In the Second Division, the main question to be decided was whether Kent or Northamptonshire would be promoted alongside Durham. With bottom side Gloucestershire visiting Canterbury, there was no doubt as to who had the easier task. Kent asked the visitors to bat and, despite a useful 86 from skipper James Bracey, they made a moderate score of 229 all out. Ben Compton responded with an innings of 126 to set the hosts on their way to 353 in reply. Kamran Dhariwal equalled the best score of his nascent career, 66, but no one else reached fifty and so they were all out for 241. Matt Milnes, having taken four wickets in the first innings, followed up with five for 33 in the second. With a target of just 118, Kent hurried to victory for the loss of two wickets inside three days to secure the second promotion spot. Defeat condemned Gloucestershire to the wooden spoon.

Northamptonshire travelled to Lord’s and chose to bat first; it was a decision that Luke Procter probably rued, as they were bowled out for only 103, with Ryan Higgins and Danru Ferns each taking four wickets. Higgins (115) beat that total on his own, as Middlesex replied with 255 all out to take complete control. But the promotion contenders weren’t completely done for: Saif Zaib scored 110 as they made 285 all out to set a target of 134. They did pick up two early wickets, but Middlesex went on to win by seven wickets inside three days. For Northamptonshire, defeat left them 20 points adrift of Kent, while the win secured fourth place for Middlesex.

Derbyshire chose field on their trip to New Road and must have been pleased when they bowled out Worcestershire for 214, Muhammad Abbas taking five for 63. But Derbyshire’s reply of 88 left them deep in trouble, after Ben Allison took five for 22. At 104 for eight, the hosts were in danger of giving their opponents a chance to hit back, but Matthew Waite made 74 not out, the highest score of the match, to take them up to 206 all out, setting a target of 333. Abbas took a further four wickets. Allison again did all the damage against Derbyshire, taking a career-best six for 42 to give him match figures of 11 for 64. The away side were bowled out for 157 to lose by 175 runs inside three days.

Finally, the game at Old Trafford was the only one in the division to go into the final day of the season. Durham decided to bat first and Emilio Gay took full advantage by scoring 141, while four other batters passed fifty. Nauman Ali took six for 166 as Lancashire eventually dismissed their visitors for 493. Given Lancashire’s failure to reach 200 in any of their previous ten innings, they must have feared an innings defeat was on the cards, but Josh Bohannon made an unbeaten 190 as the Red Rose reached 397 for six before the weather intervened and the game ended as a draw.

In the race to be leading runscorer this summer, Tom Abell’s 307 took him up to 1287 for the season, leaving him one short of Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke (1288). Just nine batters topped 1000 runs, with Sam Hain (1048) the only player from the champions to do so. Ricardo Vasconcelos of Northamptonshire (1159) was the leading scorer in the Second Division. Ethan Bamber’s fine form in the run-in for the newly crowned champions – he took 24 wickets in September – saw him come from behind to be the leading wicket-taker, with 69, ahead of Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott (64). All told, 11 bowlers took 50 wickets or more in the summer, with George Balderson’s average of 21.88 being the worst among them. Matthew Potts of Durham was the top wicket-taker in the Second Division, with 60.