There may be a day or two left of the campaign, but Northamptonshire are already celebrating what may just be the finest season in the club's history.
Essex's failure to secure the bonus points they required to stand any chance of overhauling them means that Northants are assured of promotion to Division One of the County Championship whatever happens in the rest of their match with Worcestershire.
With the FLt20 already secured - only the fourth trophy in the history of a club that played its inaugural first-class game in 1905 - and the club assured of playing in the top division for the first time since 2004, it is easy to understand why the chief executive, David Smith, declared it "the best year we've ever had". They only missed out on a YB40 semi-final due to run rate, too.
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It is the contrast with last year that is so remarkable. Not only did Northants finish second from bottom of Division Two in 2012, they hardly won a match in limited-overs cricket. Across the three competitions, no side won fewer games. Spectators stayed away in their droves.
As a result, they changed their captain and their coach. David Ripley, the wicketkeeper when Northants last won a trophy in 1992, actually replaced David Capel midway through the 2012 campaign but it was only this year that he had the opportunity to instil his own values upon the side. Stephen Peters replaced Andrew Hall as captain of the first-class side and Alex Wakely became captain in the limited-overs formats, deputising in the Championship side when Peters was injured.
Hall, relieved of the burden of leadership, rediscovered his form as a player and emerged as their "standout four-day performer", in the words of Ripley. No one in the side has scored more runs than Hall's 909, while he has also taken 35 Championship wickets.
The club also recruited wisely. Steven Crook, arguably the signing of the season, was brought in from Middlesex to add pace with the ball and ballast with the bat, while Azharullah was signed from league cricket and Trent Copeland as overseas player. They have so far claimed 113 Championship wickets between them; only Lancashire have taken more bowling points than Northants in the division.
The batting was even stronger. No side in either division can match their 54 batting bonus points and, with 15 men having contributed half-centuries, there were times when a batsman as competent as Copeland, who has scored a first-class century and gone in as high as No. 7 in Australia, went in at No. 11.
But there is more to this improvement than strong batting and bowling. Northants have also instilled in their side a unity and spirit that has seen them overcome two defeats against Lancashire - the only side that beat them and the only side they admit were better than them - and the inevitable stresses and strains of a long county season. The split captaincy idea has resulted in all formats benefiting from increased energy and time for planning, and the momentum of success in all forms of the game has proved self-perpetuating.
Perhaps most pleasing is the emergence of some young players at the club - the likes of Olly Stone, Rob Newton, Rob Keogh, Ben Duckett, David Murphy and even Wakely - who could go on to form the basis of a strong team for a decade to come.
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