LANCASHIRE narrowly missed out on a stunning victory yesterday evening as they came tantalisingly close to a record fourth-innings target of 489 at The Oval. In the end, they ran out of wickets to fall just 24 runs short and hand Sussex back-to-back county championships.

Lancashire’s tail, led by Dominic Cork and Saj Mahmood, refused to bow to the seemingly inevitable, and the pair added 52 for the eighth wicket. When Mahmood was caught behind for 26, off 25 balls, Lancashire remained 37 short of the target. Cork did his best to shield the last men in, but in the end he was bowled by Murtaza Hussain chasing the runs.

Having already wrapped up an innings trouncing of Worcestershire by 12.20pm, Sussex had to wait several nerve-shredding hours before the trophy could be presented to them. With Cork’s dismissal, Lancashire failed in their bid to secure the red-rose county their first outright championship since 1934, and Sussex, winners in 2003 and 2006, were celebrating again.

VVS Laxman and Stuart Law had laid the foundation for Lancashire’s thrilling finale. They added 115 for the third wicket until Laxman fell for 100 to the spin of Ian Salisbury. Law and Steve Croft added 77 more until Surrey’s 21-year-old pace bowler Jade Dernbach had both Law, on 79, then Croft, 45, caught behind for the addition of one run to leave Lancashire still needing 181 runs at tea.

The improbability of a Lancashire victory – no side had ever made more in the fourth innings to win at The Oval – meant belief was high that five quick Worcestershire wickets would give Sussex the title and underline their status as the predominant county side of the 21st century.

That status is thanks in no small part to Mushtaq Ahmed, the Pakistani leg-spinner. And so it was again yesterday that Mushtaq, struggling with an injured knee, confirmed his place in local lore with four more wickets to make it seven in the innings, 13 in the match, and 90 for the season – 10 clear of his nearest rival, Durham’s Ottis Gibson.

Mushtaq first claimed Moeen Ali, who dragged a slog-sweep onto his stumps to end a career-best 85. Robin Martin-Jenkins interrupted Mushtaq’s one-man show to knock back Kabir Ali’s leg-stump, and the leg-spinner did the rest. Batty was stumped, Richard Jones lobbed a catch to Chris Adams at slip and a huge cheer resonated around the ground from a 3,000-strong crowd when Peter Willey raised his right arm to confirm that Nadeem Malik was out leg-before.