WE ARE all gutted not to have been able to retain the Specsavers County Championship but Middlesex were deserved winners. They were unbeaten all year and played some excellent cricket along the way.

Taking the disappointing of losing out of it, last week was brilliant to be involved in. Coming into the last day of the Championship season with three possible winners, it's massively exciting for English red-ball cricket.

Apart from the throw-ups (from Adam Lyth and myself to give Middlesex quick runs), I guess, it showcased what an exciting game the Championship can be.

For us to still be in with a chance going into the last session of the year, it's a great feat, particularly with the ups and downs that we've had throughout the season – injuries, selection issues, coaching dilemmas, things we couldn't control.

We had to make a game of it and go for the win on Friday. It was our only opportunity to defend the crown.

I know there will be a few disappointed folk down at Taunton, because they were top after their win and so close to winning the title. But any other team in the league – even the world – would have done exactly the same thing as us and Middlesex in trying to set the game up.

It was slightly embarrassing personally to be throwing lobs up and getting whacked out of the park, although I did manage to pick up my first two first-class wickets.

One of them was thanks to Jack Brooks, who was even talking to the umpire at square-leg with his arms crossed before sticking out a hand to catch Dawid Malan.

But having said that, I don't think I'm too far away from being classed as a genuine all-rounder. I'm pretty sure most counties will be spending their winter researching my bowling now!

Come next season, they'll be hoping we don't bring the declaration bowlers on too soon because there'll definitely be a ball with their name on it.

Personally, with the bat, it's been an okay season without being brilliant. I'm happy with how I played in the T20 and the red-ball stuff but disappointed with the one-day stuff. I didn't perform how I can do there – but you can't have it all ways, so I'm relatively happy.

It could have been a 1,400 or 1,500-run year in the Championship with the amount of times I got myself in and then out again.

The one thing that was lacking from my season was a big double hundred. Throw one of them in and it is 1,400 runs and I'm averaging 50.

I'm not miles away from where I want to be, and it's definitely a massive improvement from where I was last year, but I'm striving to be as good as I can be to help Yorkshire move forward.

I will be looking to go away at some point this winter to get a little bit of cricket somewhere. Where that is, it's something I haven't quite decided yet. I'll have a few months off now and decide.

I'll probably pick up a bat again in December and then go away in January or February. It's something we need to sit down and discuss with Yorkshire and work out a plan which will take my game forward.

We're all disappointed to be waving goodbye to Jason Gillespie, who has been superb for us as a coach in changing the ethos and culture around the squad after the club were relegated in 2012.

We're disappointed we couldn't give him a third title but he's had a really good run with us. I think he will be sorely missed – but we wish him well with his coaching and media ventures in the future.

Dizzy came in at a time when we had a relatively new side. The likes of Brooksy, Liam Plunkett and Andrew Hodd all came towards the end of his first year and he knew he'd have a team for the next few years. Now, it looks like the team will go through a transitional stage over the next couple of years.

Whoever the new coach will be has to have a real eye for talent and it will be a tough task for him. But hopefully we can time the transition of players in and out of the team perfectly to enable us to compete for trophies.

* Alex and sponsors Pennine Business Partners are aiming to Hit Cancer for Six in 2016. They are donating £10 to the Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust every time Alex hits a six or takes a catch and are asking cricket lovers everywhere to support this great cause, which provides special care and support to young people fighting cancer. Visit Pennine Business Partners page on Just Giving https://www.justgiving.com/Pennine-Business-Partners.