Qualification race hots up for One Day Cup knockouts

MEN'S ONE DAY CUP ROUNDUP: Gloucestershire suffered their first defeat of the tournament but are safely through, while Group B features three counties level on points, fighting - in all likelihood - for two knockout berths

Chelmsford: Essex 289, Gloucestershire 159 - Essex won by 130 runs

Tom Westley continued his late-summer purple patch of run accumulation with a well-crafted 92 to inflict the first defeat of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign on Gloucestershire and enhance Essex's chances of qualifying for the knock-out stages.

The Essex captain has now racked up 443 runs in seven innings in this season's competition, including a century and three fifties. Add in three red-ball centuries in June and July's matches and he has scored 905 runs in just two months. His latest knock encompassed 103 balls and included eight boundaries.

Gloucestershire were already through to the knockout rounds – they wait to see if they are straight into the semi-final as Group A winners – but after six successive wins this was an underwhelming performance against an Essex side who have now won four games in a row. The visitors were dismissed for 159 with 89 balls to spare with Matt Critchley hastening the 130-run defeat with 3 for 27.

Southampton: Derbyshire 339-5, Hampshire 341-7 - Hampshire won by three wickets

Teenager Ben Mayes gave a glimpse into the future with a match-winning 62 not out as Hampshire kept Metro Bank One-Day Cup men’s competition progression in their own hands.

England Under-19 star Mayes, just 17, mesmerised with a catalogue of power, guile and switch hits for his second List A fifty.

Mayes put on 111 in 72 balls with James Fuller (54 off 39) to take Hampshire to their fifth win in the competition, after fifties for Fletcha Middleton and Ben Brown.

Derbyshire Falcons had been in control after posting 339 thanks to 98 for Caleb Jewell and 76 for Brooke Guest but they were eliminated from the One-Day Cup, and are still yet to win a List A match at Utilita Bowl in seven attempts.

Hampshire now know a final fixture win over Gloucestershire will see them into the knockout stage for a fourth straight season.

Related: After the dark days, Matt Milnes makes up for lost time

^{Tom Lammonby made a hundred for Somerset (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Leicester: Worcestershire 328, Leicestershire 312-9 - Worcestershire won by 16 runs 

Brett D'Oliveira's 107 gave Worcestershire Rapids the platform for a 16-run victory over Leicestershire Foxes, clinching a top-three finish while eliminating the home side, who finished 312 for nine in reply to the Rapids' 328.

D'Oliveira's second hundred of this year's 50-over competition came off 105 balls and contained 15 fours and two sixes. He had shared a stand of 119 for the first wicket with 19-year-old Daniel Lategan (34 off 59). Rob Jones (67 off 59) made the next biggest impression on the Foxes attack.

After Leicestershire had sunk to 23 for 4 in reply, Shan Masood (88 off 87) hit 14 fours and Ben Cox (76 off 80) a dozen as the pair put on 163 for the fifth wicket in a determined fightback.

Ben Mike, batting with a runner after sustaining a hamstring injury while bowling, defied the pain to hit five sixes in a brave unbeaten 72 off 45 balls but it proved in vain, with seamer Ben Allison taking 3 for 87 to keep the Rapids in with a chance of topping Group A with one match to come.

Trent Bridge: Surrey 289-8, Nottinghamshire 279-9 - Surrey won by 10 runs

Ralphie Albert, the England Under-19 allrounder who is grandson to snooker star Jimmy White, fell just four runs short of a rampant century in his first innings at any level for Surrey as the visitors posted 289 for 8 against Notts Outlaws in their Group A Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at Trent Bridge.

It was his side's highest-ever individual score for a maiden List A innings and helped bring victory by 10 runs. This still looked unlikely, however, when, in reply, the Zimbabwean Dane Schadendorf and locally-raised Sam King both made their first fifties in any Notts cricket in an 85-run third-wicket partnership.

But Albert, bowling left-arm spin, struck twice in 13 balls as Schadendorf fell for 51, caught behind sweeping, and Ben Martindale, returning with a runner after retiring hurt in the sixth over, soon drove him to mid-off. Seven balls later Albert took the catch that left Notts six down, needing 104 from 86 balls.

Wicket-taker Ollie Sykes added two more successes in his next nine balls, King out for 67, and Notts now seemed certain of defeat. But No.9 Bob Lord, hammered a late bravura unbeaten 72, batting with a runner, almost to suggest a miracle, until 23 from the last over proved just too much.

^{Brett D'Oliveira's century guided Worcestershire to victory (Michael Steele/Getty Images)}

Riverside: Durham 300-8, Warwickshire 303-6 - Warwickshire won by four wickets

A sublime unbeaten 141 from Ed Barnard gave Warwickshire's qualification hopes in the Metro Bank One Day Cup a boost as his side beat Durham by four wickets, despite a magnificent century from Alex Lees.

Consistent wickets plagued Durham's innings, but the reliable Lees displayed a mix of grit and fluency to pick up a List A best of 148 and was well supported by Ben Raine (46) to get the home side to a total of 300 for 8.

Warwickshire got off to a shaky start, but skipper Barnard and Hamza Shaikh combined for a partnership worth 106 to give them the edge.

Shaikh was dismissed, but Barnard continued the charge and along with Michael Booth he took his side home with 14 balls to spare.

Canterbury: Kent 269-9, Somerset 270-6 - Somerset won by four wickets

Somerset remain in the hunt for a Metro Bank quarter-final after easing to a four-wicket run win over the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.

Tom Lammonby hit 102, from 104 balls, as the visitors closed on 270 for 6, in reply to Kent's 269 for 9.

Jack Leach took 2 for 37 including both Denlys in the space of three balls. Jaydn Denly, batting for only the second time with his Uncle Joe, was Kent's highest scorer with 65 and the duo put on 97 for the second wicket.

Denly Junior then took 2 for 41 but Somerset never really looked in danger and they clinched the win with 5.3 overs to spare.

^{Middlesex sit fourth in their group despite winning five of seven games (Clive Mason/Getty Images)}

Northampton: Northamptonshire 189, Middlesex 192-6 - Middlesex won by four wickets

Sam Robson and Ben Geddes both struck half centuries as Middlesex coasted to victory over Northamptonshire to maintain their hopes of a knockout place in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Robson hit 67 from 70 balls, while skipper Geddes followed up his List A best of 141 not out against Kent with 51 from as many deliveries to propel the visitors across the line at Wantage Road with 17.3 overs unused.

The Steelbacks were bowled out for 189 in 38.1 overs despite a third-wicket stand of 108 between Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh, who both registered their first half centuries of the tournament.

But their last eight wickets fell for 77, with Middlesex spinner Zafar Gohar taking 4 for 39 and allrounder Ryan Higgins 3 for 34 before weighing in with a lively 48 from 34 as his side sealed the win.

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