Surrey had to wait just 43 balls on Friday morning before they were crowned the 2024 County Champions, as Somerset, their only possible challengers, slipped away like a soggy sandcastle at Old Trafford.

The Surrey squad, watching in the dressing room at the Oval, hugged and punched the air. Maybe it lacked the piquancy of winning the title on the pitch, but who was going to turn their nose up at a third Championship in a row, the first time any club have done that since Yorkshire under Brian Close in 1966, 67 and 68? Rory Burns, who has played in every one of Surrey’s 13 championship games, alongside Dom Sibley and Jordan Clark, and who passed 1,000 runs for the season against Durham this week, wins his fourth pennant as captain.

It is a magnificent achievement by a club who, though they may have the resources other clubs can only dream of, take red-ball cricket seriously, value it and their supporters, invest in homegrown players and have, in their retiring director of cricket Alec Stewart, one of county cricket’s giants.

“You don’t often get a cuddle and a bit of a tear from Stewie,” Surrey head coach, Gareth Batty, told the BBC afterwards, “but when the Lancs boys got the final wicket there was a big outburst of emotion.

“He is irreplaceable. Anyone who thinks they can do what Alec Stewart has done here is delusional. He is the heartbeat, he is the brains – everything here comes through Alec. Three on the bounce is fitting.”

Stewart will not be leaving the Oval altogether, promising to be found watching from the stands or lurking in the background. “This is probably the hardest one we’ve had to win for so many reasons,” Stewart said. “Yes, we’re the team to beat, you always want to beat the champions, and providing a number of players to England, which we’re very proud of, has made it very challenging at times … I’m very proud of everyone.”

Surrey have used 23 players over the campaign, with Jamie Smith, Ollie Pope and Gus Atkinson often away on international duty. Burns sits at the head of the runs column, while Dan Worrall (52 wickets at 16.15) and Jordan Clark (38 at 25.97) have been the leading wicket-takers.

“To do it three times in a row is very satisfying. We shall enjoy today and then start the hard work tomorrow to do it all again,” Batty said.

“Every time you get over the line it’s the hardest one because other teams are trying to close the gap, trying to improve their squads, improve their players. I feel like we are still keeping some distance, in a healthy, confident way, not in an arrogant way, because we’re working incredibly hard trying to improve our performances year in and year out.”

An exhausted Somerset, whose title challenge seemed to breathe again after their pulse-quickening victory over Surrey at Taunton last week, fell to a Lancashire side at last galvanised by the threat of relegation.

Their already long odds grew longer still when they lost Lewis Gregory to the first ball of the day, his middle stump disappearing courtesy of a Luke Wells googly, and when Craig Overton was lbw in the next over, the game was up. As Surrey celebrated their 23rd County Championship title, Somerset’s long wait for a first must go on.

A phlegmatic Jason Kerr, Somerset’s coach, paid tribute to Surrey on the Old Trafford outfield. “They’re obviously a formidable club, they’ve got a method of playing at home, they know how to win, they’ve got incredible depth in their club. But as an incredibly aspirational club, we definitely feel we can catch them.

“When you look at the resources of Surrey compared to a lot of the other counties, their depth in the seam department is significant. That’s where we’d all be envious, we need two Craig Overtons, two Lewis Gregorys, which allows you to rest, rotate and keep them fresh.”

And what if anything would he take from Surrey? “Their bank balance!”

Elsewhere, Yorkshire took little time to bowl out Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens and go into the final round with an excellent chance of joining Sussex in Division One next year, leading third-placed Middlesex by 15 points.

At Southampton, Kyle Abbott scissored through Worcestershire, finishing with five for 36, meaning that Hampshire will travel to Taunton next Thursday to thrash out with Somerset who will carry Surrey’s bouquet – if Hampshire finish second it will be for the first time since Shane Warne was captain in 2005. Not the finale Somerset were hoping for.