I have had the dubious privilege for supporting my beloved martlets for more than thirty years, one of the cursed collection of sporting teams which suffer my backing with more forbearance than I deserve.
However, days like today make it worthwhile, as Sussex County Cricket Club swept to a thoroughly deserved County Championship, slaughtering Nottinghamshire by an innings and 245 runs as Trent Bridge... this is cricket we're talking about, for the benefit of those who are wondering what I'm on about. When Sussex won the title in 2003, the Wisden headline was '164 years of hurt, never stopped believing' and I have to admit that I had begun to despair of ever celebrating the glory of victory.
The star? Who else but Mushtaq Ahmed, apparently not good enough to play for his country yet perfectly capable of destroying a series of opposition batting line-ups in spite of a collection of strains, muscle pulls and other ailments that would have left most Premiership footballers in the treatment room for months.
But let's not fail to recognise Chris Adams, Michael Yardy, Jason Lewry and so many others whose efforts led to our best season ever, with the C&G Trophy to add to the cabinet. If only I had the time to go and take in a day or two... maybe next season...
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