Peter Handscomb has guided Leicestershire back to the top division of England's county championship after 22 years -- but their inspirational Australian captain wasn't around to finally watch them earn their long awaited promotion.
The 34-year-old Test batter has led the Foxes brilliantly this season but had to return home for the final matches of the English season to take up his duties with Victoria for their forthcoming campaign.
But one of the first things Leicestershire's South African coach Alfonso Thomas did at their Grace Road home in Leicester on Thursday after the team secured promotion was to message Handscomb to thank him for having steered them back to the top flight.
Stand-in captain Ian Holland paid his own tribute to Handscomb, saying: "He's been amazing with the way he's captained the team and the group, his calmness around the group has been incredible."
But it proved a damp and slightly anti-climactic way for them to seal their big day with the weather ensuring their four-day match against Gloucestershire proved a washout draw.
Leicestershire had been on 1-93 in their chase of 316 before the third rain interruption of the afternoon forced the abandonment.
With Derbyshire's match against Middlesex at Lord's also drawn, it was enough to ensure Leicestershire will be back in the first division next year, ending a wait which stretches back to 2003.
During that period, they've been bottom eight times, but this year, they've been superb under Handscomb, winning five of their first seven matches.
His batting in the middle order as well as astute captaincy played a big part, as he scored 601 championship runs at an average of 40.06, with two tons and three fifties.
Their next aim is to complete the season by being crowned division two champions, which looks likely as they lead the table by 25 points from Glamorgan.
Meanwhile, another former Australian Test stalwart Marcus Harris has completed his own captaincy role at second-division Lancashire with an unbeaten half-century that took him past 1000 runs for the championship season.
The 33-year-old left-hander, who took over the leadership at Old Trafford midway through the season, has been prolific, the sixth-highest scorer in the country in both divisions with his 1027 runs at an average of 60.41.
But his fifth half-century of the summer to go with his three first-class hundreds was not enough to earn Lancashire a win against Kent at Canterbury as their chase of 303 ended at 3-138 when the rains came to spoil the fun.
It was Harris's last innings of the season for the Old Trafford-based county as both he and fellow Australian international Ashton Turner are returning home.
