³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Lancashire Lightning qualified for the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast with a seven-run win over Yorkshire Vikings.

A late slump saw Lightning post 167-6 after Liam Livingstone (69 off 43) and Steven Croft (58) had put on 130 for the second wicket at Old Trafford.

Adam Lyth and Joe Root (64 off 39) looked to be guiding Yorkshire to victory, but sharp fielding saw both men run out as the visitors fell short.

Meanwhile, Notts Outlaws eased to an eight-wicket triumph over Derbyshire.

The Outlaws, who are unbeaten in the competition, had already secured a quarter-final spot before the game against the Falcons.

Notts are now on the brink of securing home advantage in the last eight after chasing down a target of 143 with 35 balls to spare.

Lancashire could yet move above the Trent Bridge outfit in the North Group, depending on the outcome of their final two group matches.

Lancashire recovered from the setback of losing Alex Davies to the third ball as Livingstone and Croft set a strong platform with Lightning's record T20 partnership against Yorkshire.

Yet Lancs went from 132-1 to 135-4 in the space of eight balls as both men were dismissed either side of a first-ball duck for Dane Vilas.

Livingstone was caught at deep mid-on after failing to get hold of a full toss from Jordan Thompson, who took a caught-and-bowled as Vilas toe-ended an attempted scoop shot.

England Test captain Joe Root (2-25) then picked up the wicket of Croft as the Lightning had their momentum checked in the final five overs.

Dawid Malan fell early in the Yorkshire chase, but Lyth and Root steered the Vikings to 115-1 in the 13th over.

However, sharp reactions from Davies meant Lyth was run out chasing a second run, and a brilliant throw from Croft at deep point - along with quick glovework from George Lavelle - did for Root three overs later.

Livingstone trapped Harry Brook lbw for 15, leaving Yorkshire needing 25 runs from the final three overs.

And the hosts held their nerve, with another run out and the wicket of Thompson preceding a fine final over from Saqib Mahmood, who conceded just four runs to seal victory.

Defeat means Yorkshire, who were without four players because of a positive coronavirus test, have not beaten their Roses rivals in T20 competition since August 2017.

Notts made the perfect start against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge when Imad Wasim removed Wayne Madsen with the first ball of the match.

Samit Patel picked up the wickets of Matthew Critchley (24) and Alex Hughes in consecutive balls as the Falcons slipped to 76-5.

After Billy Godleman went for a run-a-ball-47, late contributions from Anuj Dal and Brooke Guest helped the Falcons reach 142-8 as Jake Ball finished with 3-28.

Alex Hales hit out early in the Notts reply, scoring 22 off seven balls, and the Falcons also dismissed Joe Clarke in the powerplay.

But Ben Duckett and Chris Nash took control to guide Notts home with ease.

Duckett hit nine fours and a six in his 31-ball knock of 57, while Nash marked his 500th game of his professional career with an unbeaten 40.