AFP, LONDON: Essex won their first English County Championship title since 1992 on Friday in their first season back in the top division.

Ryan ten Doeschate's team put themselves on the brink of the title by thumping Warwickshire by an innings inside three days at Edgbaston on Thursday but had to wait for the result from Taunton, where second-placed Lancashire were in action. A seven-wicket win for Somerset means Essex, with eight wins under their belt, cannot be caught, even with two games to go.