MASSIVE congratulations to our county’s cricketers in their first ever T20 final at Edgbaston on Saturday.

How apt it was that on the weekend the county’s most famous cricketing son Basil D’Oliveira was awarded the freedom of the city, Worcestershire came out top against all the odds and were deservedly crowned this year’s T20 champions.

The emotional rollercoaster that T20 cricket always is was amped up to 11 in the final. Saturday was a day that went up and down, down and up and every other way.

It was a victory made all the much sweeter after most of Sky Sports pundit team didn’t give Worcestershire a chance.

It was real edge-of-the-seat, sweaty palm stuff towards the end. The advantage swung this way and that way, our way, their way. Dot balls. Painful dot balls. Almost-boundaries deserving four and only getting a single. Ben Cox was connecting but it just wouldn’t cross the boundary. I was shaking the telly trying to get it over the line. The score kept trickling up but the pressure mounted and mounted.

Worcestershire had bowled brilliantly at the death restricting Sussex to a catchable 157.

Pat Brown, at just 20-years old was absolutely unplayable at times with his unfathomable slow knuckle ball. He stood up and shone brightest towards the death as he restricted and frustrated Sussex to only a few runs in the final few overs.

Moeen Ali as cool and calm as you like put Worcestershire in a steady position with some brilliant play but then Salt ran along the boundary and scooped up a shot of his and he was out. A shot to the heart. It was like watching an expensive vase hurl towards the floor and smash into a million pieces. My head was in my hands. I couldn’t watch.

But then it came. This was Worcestershire’s weekend after all. Jofra Archer ran up and threw a javelin of a no-ball so impressively high and wide it almost landed in New Road. But we weren’t there quite yet. Off it flew for four, Cox, the pressure sponge, hit a six off the free hit. Worcestershire had one hand and about three fingers on the trophy now. Another glorious four and it was job done.

Congratulations to everybody at Worcestershire County Cricket Club and here’s to years of further success. We believe even when nobody else does.