Warwickshire’s end-of-season victory over Lancashire to ensure safety from relegation in the County Championship proved a relief as they avoided the ‘ecstasy-to-agony’ scenario following their cup wins earlier. With their eight-wicket One-Day Cup final destruction of Surrey in the bag, the win over their fellow league strugglers made it a double-delight for the Bears with the 237 runs win at Edgbaston.
Of the County Championship season, Warwickshire captain Ian Bell said: "To escape relegation was great. It was a massive team performance, but we were at the wrong end of the table. In the game, in terms of fight, and the way we went about our cricket, 1 to 11, it was probably our best performance of the season."
It was their first home Championship victory of the season - and just their third overall in 16 attempts - left them sixth in the final table, their lowest finish since 2010.
They did make short work of claiming the ninth Lord's triumph in their history with an eight-wicket One-Day Cup final win with Man of the Match, Jonathan Trott, saying: "When you're reaching the end of your career, you want to put in performances and create memories.
This was my fourth final but it's the first time I've got above 15 or 20. It's always nice to be able to say that I managed a score like that."
Despite an uncomfortable afternoon back at Edgbaston, Lancashire eventually also avoided the drop to Division Two, after Durham's victory against Hampshire.
