Every County Championship triumph has its pivotal moments. The road to any championship title is a long and winding one.
There are plenty of bumps and delays along the way, but also moments - sessions, matches, results - that prompt a collective suspicion: "We could be on to something here."
In Warwickshire's advance to the title in 2004, one of those moments, perhaps the most important, came very early in the campaign when, on a memorable day in mid-May, Surrey were seen off at Edgbaston.
The Bears began their 2004 championship season with three home games. The first two, against Middlesex and Gloucestershire, were uninspiring, rain-affected draws. The third, against Surrey, seemed nailed on for another draw when, deep in the last day, the visitors were 364 for two in their second innings.
But the Bears won it. Sensationally.
After skipper Nick Knight won the toss and chose to bat, the Bears at first faltered to 71 for three but then, as was the case so often in 2004, were rescued by a powerhouse middle order performance. After Jonathan Trott (61), Jim Troughton (77) and Dougie Brown (44) turned the innings round, Aussie import Brad Hogg put Surrey to the sword.
Hogg smashed 158 (163 balls) and added 191 for the seventh wicket with Ashley Giles (70) to lift the Bears to 546 all out. Hogg had been signed primarily for his wrist spin but was to take only 18 championship wickets at 53 in the season. His batting, meanwhile - 707 runs at 70.60 - was a revelation.
Spinners Hogg and Giles then shared five wickets as Surrey replied with 302 all out. Leading by 244, the Bears enforced the follow on, but Surrey's powerful top order then kicked in. Scott Newman, Mark Butcher and Mark Ramprakash took their side to 186 for two, at which point Butcher was joined by England team-mate Graham Thorpe.
On a flattening pitch they batted out the third day and far into the fourth. When their stand reached 178 and Surrey were 364 for two, 120 ahead, another draw looked a certainty.
Dewald Pretorius made the breakthrough when Thorpe (89) edged to wicketkeeper Tony Frost. In what was to prove his best spell for the Bears by a mile, Pretorius then bowled Jon Batty and struck the big blow, Butcher, bowled for 194.
On a pitch still offering seamers next to nothing, Brown and Neil Carter then capitalised on some nervous batting to rip out the last five wickets for 27. The last eight wickets had tumbled for 40. Suddenly, it was game on. The Bears needed 171 in the last session.
They cruised to it. Neil Carter, sent in first, provided the perfect impetus with a quickfire 26 to put the Bears ahead of the game and there they stayed. Knight saw his side home to stunning victory with a perfectly-paced unbeaten 62, supported by a flurry of boundaries from Jonathan Trott (35 not out, 29 balls).
On a magnificent, sunny Saturday afternoon at Edgbaston, the first seeds of belief had been sown. The 2004 Bears, fancied by no one, were indeed on to something.
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