Big wins for Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire, Warwickshire beaten again

MEN'S T20 BLAST ROUNDUP: Meanwhile, Essex eased past Derbyshire, while Nottinghamshire had too much for Durham

ECB Reporters Network | 31/05/2026 at 19:32

Chelmsford: Derbyshire Falcons 173, Essex 179-5 - Essex won by five wickets

Charlie Allison saw Essex over the line for the second time in three days as the Eagles tasted back-to-back Vitality Blast men's competition victories.

Allison returned from England Lions duty by taking the final step against Kent Spitfires on Friday, and then classily scored 67 not out to beat Derbyshire Falcons.

A tight bowling display, with four bowlers taking two wickets, restricted Falcons to 173 – with Matt Montgomery's 50 a rare high-point on their first T20 visit to the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground.

And it proved far under par as Allison, with for Paul Walter and Matt Critchley, eased to victory – with both sides sitting with two wins in their respective groups.

Headingley: Gloucestershire 217-6, Yorkshire 161 - Gloucestershire won by 56 runs

A D'Arcy Short-inspired Gloucestershire won the battle of two in-form sides at the start of this season's Vitality Blast as Yorkshire's early three-game winning streak ended at Headingley.

A cross-group clash – the first ever T20 meeting between these two counties – saw Gloucestershire post 217 for 6 and successfully defend it to win for the third time in four, this by 56 runs.

Australian opener Short's buccaneering 82 off 50 balls with five sixes was the feature of a Glos total which could have been more. T20 debutant Joe Phillips was excellent for 42 off 25, but Pakistani overseas pacer Hassan Ali limited the damage with 3 for 29.

Sensational Short then struck twice in two balls with his left-arm wrist spin as Yorkshire slipped to 101 for 5 in the 11th over and went on to finish with 4 for 30. Opener Adam Lyth's excellent 97 off 56 balls proved a consolatory effort in 161 all out.

Central and West Group

Edgbaston: Warwickshire Bears 208-7, Northamptonshire Steelbacks 209-4 - Northamptonshire won by six wickets

Northamptonshire Steelbacks continued their storming start to the Vitality Blast with a six-wicket victory over Warwickshire Bears at Edgbaston.

The Bears were lifted to a hefty 208 for 7 by Australian batter Beau Webster who hit a blistering 97 from 56 balls, supported by a sweet cameo from captain Ed Barnard (40).

It was a tall total, but not tall enough. Chris Lynn's seventh T20 century, an unbeaten 115, took the Steelbacks to 209 for 4 with four balls to spare and secured their fourth straight win which left the troubled Bears with a fourth straight defeat.

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^{D'Arcy Short led Gloucestershire to another win (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)}

North Group

Trent Bridge: Durham 156-8, Notts Outlaws 157-4 - Notts won by six wickets

Scotland international George Munsey powered an unbeaten 88 as Notts Outlaws registered a first win of their Vitality Blast campaign at the fourth attempt, comfortably beating Durham by six wickets with 16 balls to spare at Trent Bridge.

Well beaten in each of their first three North Group matches, Notts were miserly with the ball in restricting Durham to 156 for eight and opener Munsey's first big contribution in the competition meant they were always comfortably ahead in the chase.

The 33-year-old left-hander, capped 165 times for his country, hit three sixes and nine fours in a 52-ball knock, backed up by Freddie McCann's 32 from 33 balls.

Olly Stone, Mohammad Ali and George Linde took two wickets each in a Durham innings that never found any sustained momentum, Will Rhodes top scoring with 38 from 32 balls after Ollie Robinson had made 36 from 27.