SOMERSET were cruelly denied a first-ever County Championship triumph after Middlesex snatched the title on a dramatic final day against Yorkshire at Lord’s.

On what was a day of at times unbearable tension, a hat-trick from Toby Rowland-Jones sealed a 61-run victory for Middlesex and a first title since 1993.

That was after setting Yorkshire 240 to win a third successive title from 40 overs, but they were all out for 178 in the 36th over.

Meanwhile at Taunton, players and supporters were nervously watching events unfold having crushed Nottinghamshire by 325 runs inside three days in their final game.

Somerset needed the game at Lord’s to finish in a draw but Middlesex’s late show means the wait for a first title in the club’s 141-year history goes on.

"It’s a pain in the backside to come second again and it feels just the same as it did last time,” said opener Marcus Trescothick, who finished second as captain back in 2010. 

“It’s been such a difficult day, it was different the last time we did it because we were playing all day.  

"This one has been very strange, having to sit around and watch it all on television.  

"We got so close and thought that we had a very good chance but it wasn’t to be.

“It feels no different than last time to end up in second place, the only difference is that Middlesex have been top of the table for a long time and they have come out and won the competition outright, so they deserve to win.  

"Last time was a little bit different in that we were tied on points and lost on countback on the number of victories, but it's still painful.”

Meanwhile retiring skipper Chris Rogers added: "Naturally we are disappointed that it didn’t go our way.  

"In the end we can say we did a lot of good things; I’m very proud of the way that we have played and I think the guys can be  happy with that."