Middlesex end Lord's wait, Somerset and Leicestershire continue impressive starts

MEN'S T20 BLAST ROUNDUP: Final ball drama sees Essex beaten for the sixth time in the South Group, while Rehan Ahmed delivered a player-of-the-match display to down Notts Outlaws

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North Group

Leicester: Notts Outlaws 156, Leicestershire Foxes 160-6 - Leicestershire won by four wickets

Leicestershire Foxes climbed to second place in the North Group table after an emphatic Men's T20 Blast victory over East Midlands rivals Notts Outlaws at Grace Road.

Chasing a modest 157 on what looked a good pitch, the home side eased home by four wickets with 14 balls to spar,e thanks to a maiden T20 half-century from England's Rehan Ahmed, who hit 52 from 37 balls, sharing a 69-run fourth-wicket partnership with Foxes skipper Louis Kimber (35 off 15).

The Outlaws were bowled out for 156 in 19.3 overs, which always looked too few, with no one bettering Lyndon James's 30 from 26 balls. Daniel Sams hit three sixes in his 28 from 17 but the Foxes were impressive with the ball, led by Logan Van Beek (3 for 15) and Tom Scriven (2 for 18). 

Spinners Matt Montgomery and Calvin Harrison took two wickets each, the latter holding three catches, but the Outlaws never threatened to deny Leicestershire a fifth win of the season, with their own qualification hopes in the balance.

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South Group

Taunton: Somerset 209-7, Hampshire 192-7 - Somerset won by 17 runs

Lewis Gregory clubbed a brutal half-century as Somerset defeated Hampshire Hawks by 17 runs at the Cooper Associates Ground to return to winning ways and move clear of Surrey at the top of the T20 Blast South Group table.

Will Smeed smashed 68 from 37 balls with nine fours and three sixes and dominated stands of 59 and 46 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Abell for the second and third wickets respectively after Somerset had been put in beneath the Taunton floodlights.

But the home side lost their way during the middle overs and were indebted to skipper Gregory, who clubbed a much-needed 55 from 27 balls with four fours and four sixes and staged a record-breaking seventh-wicket partnership of 82 with Lewis Goldsworthy to propel the cider county to 209 for 6.

Veteran all-rounder Benny Howell claimed 2 for 12 and Liam Dawson 1 for 29 as the Hawks struggled to contain the South Group leaders.

James Vince raised a 30-ball 54, and South African hired hand Dewald Brevis crashed 36 from 16 deliveries, but Ben Green took 3 for 40 as Somerset took wickets at key moments to restrict Hawks to 192 for 7 and secure a sixth victory in seven outings in the short format this season.

Related: Ollie Sykes comes of age in Blast to down injury-hit Sussex

Related: Middlesex confirm interim head coach appointment after Richard Johnson dismissal

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Rehan Ahmed was crucial as Leicestershire overcame Notts (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Lord's: Middlesex 161, Essex 160-6 - Middlesex won by one run

Tom Helm held his nerve in a nail-biting final over as Middlesex began the post Richard Johnson era with a one-run victory over Essex, three years to the day after their last T20 Blast win at Lord's.

Forty-eight hours on from Johnson being relieved of duty, Helm (2 for 31) claimed the crucial wicket of Luc Benkenstein in defending 10 off the final six balls to see Middlesex home.

Essex had appeared to be cruising at 106 for 2 thanks to a stand of 54 between Paul Walter (30) and Jordan Cox 23, but Zafar Gohar's 2 for 20 put the brakes on the chase, leading to the breathless finish.

Middlesex earlier collapsed from 108 for 1 to 161 all out, failing to build on Kane Williamson's 53 in 31 balls, the former New Zealand Test captain's first half century for the Seaxes.

Simon Harmer (2 for 34) and Benkenstein (2 for 26) started the slide with Mohammed Amir (3 for 19) polishing off the tail.

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