Liam Plunkett celebrates after taking the final wicket

"It's history in the making and to be a part of it is probably the best day of my cricketing career," he said.

"It depicted the way we have played all season, everyone contributed and that's why we have won the trophy.

"The club has put in a lot of hard work and we've a perfect blend of youngsters and good experienced players."

Interview: Durham captain Dale Benkenstein

Interview: Durham's Phil Mustard

Benkenstein admitted it was difficult to know how to react after rain forced play into Sunday's reserve day with Durham in the driving seat, Hampshire needing a further 155 from 17.3 overs with only five wickets intact.

"It's been a long two days and I was apprehensive to think we had won it," he said.

"It was a horrible night waiting to get on, I knew they still had some dangerous players left."

Veteran Ottis Gibson was named Man of the Match for his spell of 3-24 at the start of the Hampshire innings, which included wickets with his first two deliveries.

"The supporters have waited a long time for this," the 38-year-old West Indian said.

"People keep telling me I am the oldest person in the team so I suppose it's up to me to take responsibility."

Gibson is now hoping Durham can land the County Championship title as well.

"We've got four games left and if I'm going to have to cut down on the celebrations a little bit," he added.

Durham coach Geoff Cook gets his hands on the trophy

England paceman Liam Plunkett finished the match in style by yorking Hampshire skipper Shane Warne.

"It was a great way to finish and this is the biggest thing in my career so far," he said.

"A lot of the lads have grown up through the academy and this is a great achievement."

Durham director of cricket Geoff Cook savoured the moment as he held the trophy drenched in champagne at the home of cricket.

"It's been a fantastic day, great for a wonderful bunch of players and for the supporters who have spent thousands to stay down here to share it with us is brilliant.

"We set out at the start of the season and said we had been over-dependent on Benkenstein and [Mike] Hussey for too long and we said to the young players it was time to perform.

"People like Coetzer, Mustard, Onions, Plunkett now he's back have started to turn in some performances and it was a superb team effort.

"It's all about the players, their determination, dedication, they play as team."

606: DEBATE Let�s hope it�s the first trophy of many for Durham AF

Stalwart seamer Neil Killeen also believes the victory is a tribute to the team spirit in the north-east.

"We're all good mates and it's been a lot of hard work to achieve what we set out to achieve.

"We've been through a lot of hard times and it's testament to everybody, all the back room staff that have put in the hard work over the years.

"It's always in the back of your mind that something daft can happen but we backed ourselves to come through and win this.

"We've been a bit of a yo-yo side with good times and bad but this squad is certainly the best I've played with throughout my time at Durham."

Wicket-keeper Phil Mustard - described as a "class act" by Hampshire skipper Shane Warne - set the tone for Durham's epic win with a scintillating 49 from 38 balls after Durham were put into bat on Saturday.

The 24-year-old defied theories that the big occasion would affect Durham's youngsters and said: "There's no point getting nervous, you just come out and enjoy it.

"That's the way I am, the way I play my cricket and I'm never going to change that."

England star Paul Collingwood described the victory as a "fairytale".

"After I joined in 1996, I think we won one game all season - but we learned a lot and it pulled us together as a team.

"To see Geoff Cook lift that trophy was a special moment. He was there from the start and these are still early days for a new county to get success," Collingwood said.