T20 Blast: Bears, Surrey & Sussex reach last eight

Dan Mousley warmed up for The Hundred with his second straight Birmingham Bears T20 fifty

Birmingham Bears booked a home quarter-final in the T20 Blast for the third year running - as the North Group leaders were also joined in the last eight by Surrey and Sussex from South Group.

A decade on from their sole T20 Blast Finals Day triumph, the Bears secured another top-two finish as they beat Derbyshire by 44 runs to ensure their final three games will all be at Edgbaston - if they are to succeed again.

Six other North Group sides, separated by just four points, could still join them in the last eight - a battle for the top four currently headed by second-placed Lancashire Lightning, third-placed Leicestershire Foxes and Northants Steelbacks, who moved into fourth after winning a rain-hit game against Durham.

While it remains very tight in the north, Somerset and Essex both need just a point to join Surrey and second-placed Sussex in the quarter-finals.

With three-time winners Hampshire and Glamorgan both officially bowing out, Gloucestershire are the third team that can still make it from the south - and they must win their last game against Middlesex and hope Somerset and Essex both lose their remaining matches.

North Group - Mousley in the house

The Bears piled up 198-2 against Derbyshire thanks to a second Edgbaston fifty inside 48 hours from Dan Mousley (60 not out, from 44 balls) and also half-centuries from Sam Hain (52 not out from 30) and a first in two months from Moeen Ali (59), whose last one was for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL in May.

Derbyshire then made a slow start before falling well short on 154 as spinners Danny Briggs (3-24) and Jake Lintott (2-24) did the damage.

Despite this damaging defeat, Derbyshire can still qualify but must win their last two games, starting at Worcester on Thursday before the following night's home game against Durham.

At Leicester, Leicestershire all-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy hit a career-best 67 to maintain the third-placed Foxes' quarter-final push with a five-wicket victory over East Midlands rivals Notts Outlaws.

New Zealander Jimmy Neesham then backed up Goldsworthy’s performance with 44 from 22 balls as, despite having slumped to 6-3, the Foxes won with an over to spare.

It condemned Notts to an eighth defeat in what has been comfortably their worst season in the current Blast format.

Dawid Malan successfully visited the New Road boundary 12 times

Northants Steelbacks climbed into the top four as Ashton Agar and Lewis McManus blasted their side to a six-wicket DLS win at Chester-le-Street.

Having been put in for the eight-over thrash, Ashton Turner (36 from 17) and Colin Ackermann (25 from 10) powered Durham to a competitive total of 90-5.

But Aussie Agar came in at three and smashed 31 to give the visitors a platform to chase down 91 before two sixes from McManus and Saif Zaib guided the visitors home.

England's Dawid Malan slapped 93 off 50 balls at Worcester as Yorkshire achieved the second highest successful run chase in their 21-year T20 history to keep alive their qualification hopes.

The Vikings ended any slim Worcestershire hopes as they chased down the hosts' 205-6 to claim a sixth victory of the campaign on 208-4 to win by six wickets with three balls to spare.

Malan hit five sixes and seven fours to leave the Tykes now needing to beat Notts in their final game at Headingley and hope for favours elsewhere.

South Group - Jumpin' Jacks flashes

Will Jacks hammered 86 from 46 balls to set up the 13-run success for Surrey against Essex at Chelmsford and earn them a two-point lead at the top.

The England white-ball opener slammed six fours and five sixes, holding Surrey’s innings together to guide them to 189-9 after a stack of wickets had fallen to spin duo Simon Harmer (3-44) and Matt Critchley (2-22).

Essex’s response was built around a similarly destructive knock from Adam Rossington, whose 78 from 49 kept them in contention until he holed out off Sam Curran in the 18th over.

Luc Benkenstein (27) did his best to rescue the situation, but he became one of three victims for Chris Jordan (3-34) as Essex – who are not yet certain of a quarter-final spot – came up short on 176-8.

Will Jacks bounced back after making just 15 runs in his two knocks for England at the T20 World Cup

Tom Banton’s unbeaten 79, his highest score of this year’s Blast, propelled Somerset to a comfortable nine-wicket win over Hampshire Hawks at Southampton and end the joint record three-times winners’ chances of reaching the quarter-finals again.

The Hawks posted 157-7 from their 20 overs, built around Tom Prest’s knock of 51 from 32, with Jack Leach taking 2-23 for the visitors and Migael Pretorius and Jake Ball also claiming two wickets apiece.

Somerset made short work of the target, with George Thomas (29) helping Banton to add 81 for the opening wicket before Tom Kohler-Cadmore, with an unbeaten 43 from 28, saw them home with two overs unused.

Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor pulverised the Glamorgan attack at Cheltenham, equalling his career-best T20 score with an unbeaten 80 from 35 balls as his side triumphed by a whopping 121 runs to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Taylor’s destructive knock underpinned Gloucestershire’s total of 206-6 after Cameron Bancroft had hit 44 at the top of the order, with Andy Gorvin (3-26) the pick of the visiting bowlers.

Glamorgan were never in the hunt after losing four wickets in the powerplay and they were hustled out for just 85 in 15.5 overs, with seamers David Payne and Josh Shaw picking up 3-7 and 2-7 respectively and off-spinner Tom Smith 3-33.

This week's remaining fixtures

South Group:

Tuesday, 16 July

Canterbury: Kent Spitfires v Glamorgan

Thursday, 18 July

Chelmsford: Middlesex v Gloucestershire

Taunton: Somerset v Sussex Sharks

The Oval: Surrey v Hampshire Hawks

Friday, 19 July

Cardiff: Glamorgan v Somerset

Southampton: Hampshire Hawks v Essex

Canterbury: Kent Spitfires v Surrey

Hove: Sussex Sharks v Middlesex

North Group:

Wednesday, 17 July

Manchester: Lancashire Lightning v Notts Outlaws

Thursday, 18 July

Wantage Road: Northants Steelbacks v Birmingham Bears

Worcester: Worcestershire v Derbyshire

Friday, 19 July

Derby: Derbyshire v Durham

Manchester: Lancashire Lightning v Northants Steelbacks

Edgbaston: Birmingham Bears v Leicestershire Foxes

Leeds: Yorkshire Vikings v Notts Outlaws