Reviews of the English season

After Durham clinched their first county championship, the papers look back at the season’s cricket. The Sunday Telegraph’s Steve James picks his dream-team of the season, gives Mark Ramprakash the nod for “Best Excuse” and “Worst-Directed Tantrum”, and anoints Shoaib Akhtar the “Worst Overseas Player”.

Year's Biggest Illusion The standard of the county championship. It was not that good … No spinners until Imran Tahir emerged. Great finish, but that's what happens when it rains a lot. And the intermittent presence of quickies like Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff altered the landscape too discernibly. Otherwise attacks were rather ordinary.

And if you want to find out what the “Most intemperate answer to a media question”, or what the “Most surprising confession” of the season was, read Simon Wilde in the Sunday Times