NatWest T20 Blast: Lancashire and Yorkshire tie after rain cuts Roses clash short

Lancashire and Yorkshire were forced to settle for a point apiece after rain cut short their NatWest T20 Blast clash, resulting in a tie on DLS.

Yorkshire were 64-2 after 8.1 overs when the umpires, who had stood firm for a number of overs despite some fairly heavy rain, finally took the players off. The rain persisted and eventually the game was abandoned leaving the Roses rivals to accept a share of the spoils.

A flurry of boundaries from Adam Lyth (20) in the fifth over had put Yorkshire ahead of DLS but his dismissal in the next brought Lancashire back into it before play was called to a halt.

Karl Brown (61) top-scored for Lancashire, getting the hosts off to a flyer with the help of Liam Livingstone (34 from 24 balls) and Jos Buttler (28 from 18 balls) before the Yorkshire spinners slowed them down, restricting them to 176-4 from their 20 overs.

Elsewhere in the North Group, Clint McKay recorded the best bowling figures by a Leicestershire player in T20 cricket as they beat Worcestershire by five wickets at New Road.

The seamer took 5-11 from his four overs as Worcestershire were restricted to 148-8 from their 20 overs.

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That was largely thanks to Ben Cox's 36-ball knock of 51 and some big hitting late on from John Hastings and Ed Barnard.

However, it never really looked enough and despite a mid-innings wobble, Leicestershire eased home with nine balls to spare, Colin Ackermann (47no from 36 balls) top-scoring.

At Edgbaston, Richard Keogh hit the final ball of the match to the boundary as Northants overcame a late stutter to beat the Birmingham Bears by five wickets.

Keogh ended 40 not out (from 24 balls) and he and Josh Cobb (48) looked to be taking the defending champions to a comfortable win before Cobb fell in the 18th over with 16 still needed for victory.

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Grant Elliott ramped up the pressure by dismissing Steven Crook in the final over but with the scores tied, Keogh send the last ball for four.

Earlier, Ian Bell hit 50 from 35 balls, going past 2,000 career runs in T20s in the process, as the Bears posted an ultimately insufficient 156-4.

In the South Group, a fabulous knock from Joe Denly helped Kent to knock off 205 and beat Surrey by eight wickets at The Oval.

The opener smashed an unbeaten 116 from just 63 balls, including 10 fours and six sixes, as well as sharing an opening stand of 163 with Daniel Bell-Drummond (64 from 44 balls), to see Kent over the line with three balls to spare.

Jason Roy (55 from 30 balls) and Aaron Finch (49 from 25 balls) enjoyed a similarly productive opening partnership for Surrey before Dominic Sibley (33 from 24 balls) and Ollie Pope (29no from 22 balls) bolstered the total late on.

Their efforts proved in vain, though, as Denly dismantled the Surrey attack.

Runs from Michael Carberry and wickets for Mason Crane saw Hampshire to a 29-run win over Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl.

Carberry fired 77 from just 45 balls, including five sixes, as Hampshire set Middlesex, for whom Toby Roland-Jones took 4-39, 190 to win.

It was then over to Crane, the young leg-spinner taking a wicket in each of his first three overs - the first of them, that of England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan (23) - to finish with figures of 3-15 and reduce the away side to 74-7.

Tim Southee blasted 64 balls from 32 deliveries as Middlesex avoided losing another wicket in the final 7.3 overs but they still fell well short of their target.