So that's what winning the Championship feels like! I was close to tears last Thursday

afternoon after Murray Goodwin hit the three hundredth run we needed to take the title.

Having only been on this earth 27 years and having supported Sussex for probably 20 of those years, I can only imagine the delight and release felt by many of the older Sussex members who probably never believed they would see a Sussex captain lift the Championship trophy at Hove.

The parties in the pub at the end of Thursday and Friday's play bear testament to this.

There was enough passion and rampant elation among the familiar faces of the members and staff to last a lifetime.

They also go some way to explaining what Somerset did to us on Sunday! Now is not the time to rake over the shortcomings of our one-day season, however. It is a time to rejoice and celebrate a bit of history.

My emotions since that wonderful moment on Thursday have been something like this: joy, followed by relief, followed by a slight dizziness, which became worse, and then finally there was pain in my head as the champagne wore off!

The last month has probably been the most stressful time of my, and most of the team's, life. The closer we came to realising our ambition, the more obsessed with cricket I became.

I think my wife would be the first to agree with me if I said that cricket took over my life.

In fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the wives and girlfriends for coping in these last weeks and for putting up with the zombie-like creatures coming home like nervous wrecks and keeping them awake at night as they rolled over and re-enacted the day's play in their sleep.

If we felt a weight lifted off our shoulders, then the girls must feel doubly relieved to now have the man in their lives back!

Chris Adams and the team had so many faxes and cards congratulating us, from members whose names we didn't know, to Imran Khan and Tony Greig, although the latter perhaps fell a little in our estimation when he said how ably Mushy had bowled "backed up well by James Knightley"!

There were so many well-wishers too at the PCA dinner held in London on Monday night. Anyone there could observe how much general delight there was in seeing Surrey knocked off their perch.

For now there will be time to rest and reflect on a memorable season. Before too long the planning process for next year will start.

We will not want to rest on our laurels - as of next year every team will want a piece of the champions!

For now, though, I am proud and honoured to have been a part of it all and happy for all those who have worked tirelessly both on and off the pitch over the many years in order to realise a dream.

Thursday September 25