T20 Blast | Yorkshire chase highest Blast total, Hales returns to prime, Neesham 4-for goes in vain

Lancashire vs Northamptonshire

Lancashire Lightning held their nerves to pull off a thrilling victory against Northamptonshire Steelbacks. Jimmy Neesham's four-wicket haul went in vain as the Steelbacks were denied a win.

Needing 154 to win, Lightning were losing wickets at regular intervals. They were struggling at 66/4 before Tim David (42 off 26 balls) and Dane Vilas took over and stabilised the innings. They needed six runs from the final over as the pendulum swung from one side to another.

Neesham sent back Danny Lamb and David on the third and fifth balls. However, all the good work was undone as he bowled a no-ball to hand Lancashire their fourth win in five games.

Earlier, Northants managed to reach 153/6, with Saif Zaib contributing the most with his 57 (41 balls). 

Brief Scores: Lancashire 155/8 in 19.5 overs (Tim David 42, Jimmy Neesham 26/4) defeated Northamptonshire 153/6 (Saif Zaib 57*, Liam Livingstone 21/1) by two wickets

Yorkshire vs Durham

Yorkshire Vikings chased down their highest total in their T20 Blast's history to claim a thumping six-wicket victory over Durham. Graham Clark's 65 (37 balls) and Ollie Robinson's 56 (34 balls) had taken Durham to 207/8 in their quota of 20 overs. Jordan Thompson was the star with the ball for the Vikings as he claimed four wickets.

In reply, Adam Lyth came out all guns blazing and scored a valuable 77 runs (33 balls), with ten fours and three sixes. When the first wicket of Finn Allen (29) fell in the fourth over, Yorkshire had already raced to 54. 

Skipper David Willey joined Lyth in the middle and did not allow the momentum to break. Willey remained unbeaten on 75 (39 balls) and took his team to a record victory.

Brief Scores: Yorkshire 210/4 in 17.4 overs (Adam Lyth 77, David Willey 75*) defeated Durham 207/8 in 20 overs (Graham Clark 65, Jordan Thompson 32/4) by six wickets

Worcestershire vs Warwickshire

Moeen Ali's Worcestershire Rapids defeated Warwickshire by fifteen runs in a high-scoring game to open their account in the competition.

Put into bat, the Rapids' opener, D'Oliveira, thrashed the opposition's bowling with utter disdain. His 71 off 38 balls laid the foundation for a steep total. Jack Haynes, with his 53 off 24 balls, gave the finishing touches. 

In reply, Warwickshire were reduced to 37/3. Sam Hain (45) and other batters took the team closer to the target. But their efforts were not going to be enough, with the top-order failing miserably. 

Brief Scores: Worcestershire 217/5 in 20 overs (Brett D'Oliveira 71, Jack Haynes 53*) defeated Warwickshire 202/8 in 20 overs (Sam Hain 45, Dillon Pennington 30/3. Josh Baker 26/2) by fifteen runs

Derbyshire vs Nottinghamshire

England's out of favour Alex Hales demolished Derbyshire's bowling with brutal power-hitting to lead Nottinghamshire to a comfortable seven-wicket victory. Requiring 179 to win, the Notts Outlaws made short work of the target by chasing it with seventeen balls remaining.

Hales ruled the show by bludgeoning the Derbyshire Falcons all over the park. His knock came off only 33 balls, with twelve fours and five sixes credited to his name. Hales shared an opening partnership of 119 with Joe Clark before the latter fell in the 9th over.

Earlier, Derbyshire's top-order took the team to a competitive total, with Leus du Plooy scoring the highest with 51 runs. The Falcons went from 158/4 in 17.5 overs to 178 all-out at the end. Jake Ball picked four wickets to put the Outlaws in the driving seat.

Brief Scores: Nottinghamshire 182/3 in 17.1 overs (Alex Hales 91) defeated Derbyshire 178/10 in 20 overs (Leus du Plooy 51, Wayne Madsen 40, Jake Ball 40/4) by seven wickets