T20 Blast round-up: Lancs go top, Hants end bad run

Luke Wood took three wickets for Lancashire

Lancashire Lightning moved top of the T20 Blast North Group with a second victory in 24 hours as they comfortably beat bottom club Derbyshire Falcons.

After the hosts posted a solid 178-6, Red Rose bowler Luke Wood took two wickets in the first two balls of a Derbyshire reply that never got out of second gear.

Hampshire Hawks were Saturday's other victors, beating Sussex by 62 runs at Hove in South Group.

Victory by 42 runs at Emirates Old Trafford moved Lancashire four points clear of second-placed Durham with five games to go before the quarter-finalists are decided.

Doomed Derbyshire, meanwhile, already face a scenario where even winning all of their five remaining games might not be enough to progress to the last eight.

In contrast, Lancashire are on a roll having won their past four Blast fixtures and will go into their final five games with a spring in their step aside from Liam Livingstone, who batted with a runner, adding 35 in 22 balls after pulling his hamstring.

The leg spinner did not appear for the second half of the game.

It did not much matter after Wood's pacey in-swingers delivered the two-wicket burst in the first two deliveries of Derbyshire's innings, having Caleb Jewell caught at slip and bowling Martin Andersson with a perfect off-stump yorker.

Wayne Madsen briefly threatened to make the match interesting with 53 from 40 balls but when he became the second victim of Chris Green's second over, the Derbyshire reply rather fizzled out.

Wood, who also took a catch, finished with 3-25 from his four overs.

Lynn debut ignites Hampshire top-four push

Adelaide Strikers star Chris Lynn has signed for Hampshire Hawks

Hampshire's new signing Chris Lynn delivered a power-packed debut to get the Hawks' top-four hopes back on track with a first win in six games in South Group against Sussex Sharks at Hove.

The 35-year-old, who holds the record for hitting the most sixes in the Big Bash, was playing his first competitive cricket since January after joining up with James Vince's outfit mid-competition.

But, after riding his luck early – he was dropped by Henry Crocombe on 22 – Lynn shook off the rust to deliver a 27-ball 51, sharing a partnership of 84 for the first wicket with Vince, to put Hampshire on track to an imposing 196-8.

It was the key partnership in the match with Lynn hitting three sixes and five fours although contributions from another new signing in Hilton Cartwright (24) and Benny Howell (25no) kept the momentum driving forward.

Sussex replied in stuttering fashion, slipping to 69-6 by the halfway stage, and despite some belated fireworks from Nathan McAndrew (31 in 18 balls) the hosts were never in the hunt to chase down in front of a quietened Hove crowd.

A victory by 62 runs was confirmed when Crocombe picked out Liam Dawson at cover off the bowling of Sonny Baker as Sussex were all out for 134 in 16.5 overs.

This was a first win for Hampshire since 8 June and, more importantly, a return to winning form which had deserted them after three victories on the bounce at the start of the competition.

It moved Vince's Hawks into fifth place in the South Group table ahead of Kent on net run rate while Sussex stay third.