LONDON, Sept 6: Warwickshire were crowned English county cricket champions on Monday after Middlesex beat second-placed Sussex with a five-wicket win at Hove.

Ironically Warwickshire will not be in action until they face bottom team Northamptonshire in the final round of matches later this month but it has long seemed certain the 2004 title would go to the long-time leaders.

Warwickshire chief executive Dennis Amiss lauded his team's batsmen as the architects of the achievement. The former England opener said: "It has really been down to the batters. They have given the bowlers the time."

Warwickshire's charge to the title has been built on a series of big first-innings totals - but the runaway success has still come as something of a surprise at Edgbaston.

"It has been terrific. We did not expect anything like this at the beginning of the season," admitted Amiss. "We did not really think we would be stronger in championship cricket.

"We thought we would probably do better in the one-day competitions. We thought we would be in the middle of the table. "Our strength has definitely been the batting in the first innings. We have scored more than 400 many times. We really have plenty of depth in the batting."

Ian Bell, who made his England Test debut this summer, has been the undoubted star. But captain Nick Knight and his predecessor Michael Powell have produced regularly, and Jonathan Trott and Jim Troughton have matured into fine players. - AFP