Yorkshire cheers at their 32nd County Championship rang round Trent Bridge, but one man was missing from their celebrations, at the orders of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Andrew Gale, the club captain, has known for almost two weeks he would be banned for this last lap to the 2014 title, after his spat with Ashwell Prince at Old Trafford. But he discovered on Thursday night that his punishment would extend not just to suspension from Yorkshire's final two matches of the season but would also prevent him from receiving the LV= Division One trophy and joining his team-mates as they did.
The ECB later explained in a statement that, because of the ongoing inquiry announced on September 3 and being conducted by its discipline commission into whether Gale should face any further action, it was not deemed "appropriate" for him to be involved in the presentation.
So it was that, after Yorkshire's innings-and-152-run victory, a succession of Yorkshire's great and good - in attendance and otherwise - had to reconcile Gale's disappointment with delight at their long-overdue success.
Former Yorkshire and England opener Michael Vaughan was not present but made his opinion known on Twitter, describing any ECB ruling to curtail Gale's celebrations as "nothing short of disgraceful".
Gale, who watched the presentation from the players' balcony, was also made unavailable for interview, but did manage to get his hands on the trophy in time to reignite the roars of approval from the 1000-strong support.
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