Cook keeps a tight hold of the County Championship trophy

Durham coach Geoff Cook praised his side after they clinched a second successive County Championship title with an innings victory over Notts.

Cook told BBC Radio Newcastle: "There's greater satisfaction in many respects because to repeat a victory is harder than doing it for the first time.

"The way the team has played has been absolutely outstanding to win the trophy with two games to go.

"It speaks volumes for the level of cricket they have played."

Durham bowled the visitors out for 212 at the Riverside shortly after tea on the final day to win by an innings and 52 runs and clinch the title.

And Cook was delighted to wrap things up in front of their own fans after the club offered free admission for the final two days of the game.

"To finish things off in such a competitive way against Notts, who are the second-best team in the league, in front of 3-4,000 people here was brilliant," he said.

Durham's back-to-back title successes have come under two separate captains.

Dale Benkenstein led the county to the first Championship title in their history last summer before handing over the reins to Will Smith.

And Cook is delighted with the way the 26-year-old former Nottinghamshire batsman has taken to the job and matched the achievements of last season.

"Captaincy is a tough job at the best of times," said Cook. "It's tough when you take it on for the first time and it's even tougher when you follow someone who is very successful and very popular.

"Will is growing into the job - I'm not sure he was aware of the enormity of it all when he first took over.

606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Durham's County Championship triumph

"But he is growing into it and he is learning by the day. I'm sure he'll be delighted to finish his first season as skipper with this trophy, but he'll be very level-headed about it."

The county have now won trophies in each of the last three seasons, with their successive Championship wins preceded by lifting the 2007 FP Trophy.

And Cook believes a winning mentality is now seeping into his squad because of that success and has been exemplified by key individual performances.

Both Michael Di Venuto and Dale Benkenstein have scored more than 1,000 Championship runs, while Liam Plunkett, Graham Onions and Steve Harmison have all taken more than 40 wickets in the four-day game.

"The belief within the team is growing," added Cook. "We have been lucky we have had injections from individuals at various stages.

"Graham [Onions] started the season brilliantly, Stephen [Harmison] took up the mantle and we had an injection from [David] Warner in Twenty20 cricket, which ultimately wasn't successful but kept us moving because we started to win some one-day matches.

"[Shivnarine] Chanderpaul has then come in at the end and that has kept us moving at a greater rate than if the squad was settled all the time."

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