Simon Harmer conquered anxiety and Somerset as Essex complete historic double

The South African took 83 wickets to help the club add the Division One title to their T20 Blast crown

Simon Harmer might have blown away the opposition on the way to Essex claiming the County Championship title but the spinner has revealed how he battled moments of anxiety in the concluding weeks of the season.

Anthony McGrath's side secured a rain-dominated draw with runners-up Somerset at Taunton to clinch the eighth title in their history and second in three seasons.

The success comes after Essex claimed their maiden T20 Blast title at Edgbaston and have become the first side to win both trophies in the same season.

Harmer finishes the campaign with 83 wickets, the most in the entire County Championship, at 18.28 having taken seven wickets on Finals Day.

Despite keeping his cool at the pressure moments of the campaign - he took a 10th red-ball five-for of the season during the Somerset first innings - the 30-year-old admits he had concerns heading into a defining run of matches.

“The last couple of weeks have been difficult for me, with the anxiety of not knowing whether we going to win won trophy, two or none," he told reporters.

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“You play through a million scenarios in your head, especially coming here knowing the wicket would play as it did and that it would be tough for us to get a result.

“Nobody gave us a chance in the T20 finals and we proved everyone wrong, but there was a lot of expectation on us this week, with our lead in the table and some bad weather around.

“At the moment the feeling is one of massive relief. I am sure we are going to enjoy ourselves because it has been a long season.

“Hats off to Anthony McGrath, who has been the constant within our group and kept us level-headed. He has the right people around him and when things were not going so well he was always the voice of reason.

“If people thought it was a fluke when we won the Championship in 2017, we have now shown that we are a really good four-day team, as well as being very competitive in T20.

“For me it has been an unbelievable season, but I would happily have swapped any personal accolades for the team winning the title.”