Smith stars as Worcestershire and Glamorgan win

Worcestershire's Nathan Smith has made a big impact in his first season in English county cricket

Worcestershire and Glamorgan both raised their game on two of English cricket's biggest stages as they enjoyed T20 Blast away wins on Test match grounds.

Glamorgan's Sam Northeast, who hit a triple century in the County Championship last month, made it more than 400 runs in his two visits to Lord’s this season as the Welsh county beat Middlesex by three wickets to claim a first T20 win at the home of cricket.

Worcestershire then kept their heads at Trent Bridge to beat a Notts Outlaws side including four former Pears by 20 runs - a remarkable turnaround having at one stage been 58-6, only to be rescued by a first T20 half-century from New Zealander Nathan Smith.

But the two away wins leave both the two hosts pointless in this year's competition as twice winners Notts and Middlesex, T20 victors in 2008, both suffered a third straight defeat.

Middlesex are bottom of the South Group, while Notts will be if they fail to win Friday's derby at Derby - and Durham win at Leicester.

Another nice night for Northeast

Glamorgan's former Kent, Hampshire, Yorkshire and Notts man Northeast made the highest score ever seen at Lord's when he surpassed Graham Gooch's ground record 333 to pile up 335 in the Championship back in April.

This time, having had to come in at number three to face the second ball of the innings after Eddie Byrom's first-ball duck, he made a mere 67 in 45 balls, including a crucial missed stumping, but it proved a key knock.

Middlesex got off to a great start with a 108-run opening stand between Martin Andersson, who hit 57 off 34 balls - his first T20 half-century - and Stephen Eskinazi (48).

But Middlesex then lost all 10 wickets for just 65. Mason Crane (3-28) began the slide before Timm Van der Gugten’s triple-wicket maiden, including the scalps of Luke Hollman, Tom Helm and Henry Brookes, sent Middlesex collapsing to 173 all out.

The visitors always looked comfortable in pursuit after Kiran Carlson's five sixes in a opening salvo of 54 off only 21 balls.

Despite three wickets for Middlesex's winter signing from Warwickshire Henry Brookes, Northeast's miss proved costly as was dropping Chris Cooke (21) as the visitors chased down their target to reach 177-7 with 10 balls to spare.

“Kiran played an unbelievable knock and got the momentum going," said Northeast. "I just took my lead off him.

“I didn’t see the first ball of our innings. I was still getting my kit out of my bag. I heard a cheer, stopped rummaging around and just rushed out there. You’ve just got to stay calm but Lord’s is always a special place to play and it was a fantastic atmosphere."

Pears prove too good for Notts again

Worcestershire's third straight T20 win over Notts - and their second in successive years at Trent Bridge - was all the more surprising without injured skipper Brett D’Oliveira.

But they made light of that with arguably their best T20 performance in a couple of years.

Smith was the star with his career-best 51 not out from 35 balls, sharing an 82-run seventh-wicket stand with stand-in skipper Adam Hose, who made the most of being dropped before he had scored to help their side post 154-8.

Kiwi left-armer Ben Lister (2-20) and leg spinner Calvin Harrison (1-14) were the pick of the Outlaws bowlers but the Notts batting then flopped.

Three of their Worcestershire old boys Joe Clarke, Alex Hales and Jack Haynes were back in the hutch inside the first six-over powerplay - and Notts never recovered.

Although Will Young top-scored with 25, they fell well short on 134, with seamer Tom Taylor taking 2-23 and the impressive Smith also weighing in with a wicket.

“It is a real strength of ours that we bat all the way down," said Taylor. "Nathan Smith coming in at number eight is super positive. If we do find ourselves 58-6, it gives the guys down there an opportunity to bat a little bit of time and post a career-best like he did.

“We felt we were below par if they got off to a good start but that if we could get Clarke and Hales out of the way, it would put pressure on their middle order and make it a total we could defend."

Friday fixtures

Old Trafford: Lancashire Lightning v Birmingham Bears (18:30)

Leicester: Leicestershire Foxes v Durham (18:30)

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Hampshire Hawks (18:30)

Canterbury: Kent Spitfires v Somerset (18:30)

The Oval: Surrey v Sussex Sharks (18:30)

Derby: Derbyshire Falcons v Notts Outlaws (19:00)

Chelmsford: Essex v Glamorgan (19:00)

Northampton: Northants Steelbacks v Worcestershire Rapids (19:05)

All start times BST