Nottinghamshire beat Leicestershire to solidify top spot in Vitality Blast North Group; Lewis Gregory and Devon Conway take Somerset to victory over Gloucestershire; Dan Lawrence stars in Essex win; watch Yorkshire vs Lancashire from 6pm, Friday on Sky Sports Cricket
Thursday 1 July 2021 23:06, UK
A half-century from Samit Patel saw North Group leaders Nottinghamshire home by six wickets with 13 balls to spare as Leicestershire slumped to an eighth defeat of the Vitality Blast season.
Patel hit six fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 63 and shared a 99-run fourth-wicket stand with Ben Slater, who made 48 from 31 balls in his first Twenty20 match for three years as the Outlaws chased down a target of 155, the Foxes dropping three catches on a poor night in the field.
Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison took 3-20 and Luke Fletcher 3-31 as the Foxes were bowled out for 154 in precisely 20 overs, Harry Swindells top-scoring with 36, Aaron Lilley and Ben Mike each hitting 27.
The Outlaws were forced to make three changes with Tom Moores unwell and both Joe Clarke and Sol Budinger obliged to seek Covid tests after being alerted by the NHS app.
Lewis Gregory claimed career-best figures before Devon Conway brought Somerset home with an unbeaten 81 to beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. Scorecard: Gloucestershire vs Somerset
It was a first T20 victory for Somerset at Bristol since 2015 and a win to lift them into the top four of the South Group.
Gregory's 5-24 helped Somerset hold their hosts to 161-7 before New Zealand batsman Conway passed fifty for a third time in four innings to deliver a very comfortable victory, despite only getting home with four balls to spare.
Career bests for Rob Jones and Tom Hartley boosted Lancashire's quarter-final hopes with a battling 34-run win over Worcestershire at Emirates Old Trafford. Scorecard: Lancashire vs Worcestershire
The Lightning's fourth win in 10 North Group games moved them above the Rapids into fifth place via run-rate and just a point outside the top four.
Unbeaten Jones top-scored with 49 off 33 balls in Lancashire's 159-6 having elected to bat, with the 25-year-old steering a recovery from a mid-innings stutter.
Left-arm spinner Hartley, 23, then returned a brilliant 4-16 as Worcestershire were bowled out for 125 with nine balls remaining.
Dan Lawrence scored his second Blast fifty of the season to guide Essex to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over depleted Glamorgan at Chelmsford. Scorecard: Essex vs Glamorgan
Essex were only chasing 105 after an all-round frugal bowling and fielding display stunted the visitors - who had four key players unavailable.
But Lawrence took charge of the chase with an unbeaten 55 off 31 balls, after a 70-run second-wicket stand with Adam Wheater, to make sure the Eagles cantered to the victory line with 46 balls to spare.
Nathan Sowter produced his best Blast figures of the season as Middlesex's bowlers staged an impressive fightback to see off Sussex by 63 runs. Scorecard: Middlesex vs Sussex
The leg-spinner finished with 3-13, while 19-year-old seamer Blake Cullen returned a career-best 3-21 to successfully defend a score of 166-7 at Lord's.
That total was concentrated around Stephen Eskinazi's 59 from 35 balls, making him the tournament's leading scorer, but Middlesex still looked light on runs.
However, the Sharks - whose quarter-final hopes had already been dented by five washouts in their previous six games - could only manage 103-9 in reply.
