One-Day Cup round-up: Yorkshire in pole position after Milnes heroics

Matt Milnes took career best figures of 7-38 against Sussex

Matt Milnes took a hat-trick and career-best figures of 7-38 as Yorkshire moved into pole position in a tight Group B battle for qualification for the knockout stages of the One-Day Cup.

Wins for the White Rose county, Somerset, Warwickshire and Middlesex narrowed the possible contenders down to four with one round to go, with Yorkshire looking strong favourites to go through.

In Group A, the picture cleared significantly with Worcestershire beating Leicestershire Foxes to become the second side after Gloucestershire to qualify, leaving Hampshire and Essex to battle for the final knockout berth.

The Foxes had slim qualification hopes going into the game but they were extinguished as they slipped to a 16-run defeat. The penultimate round of action also saw Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Surrey knocked out as Hampshire and Essex posted the wins that kept them in the hunt.

In Group B, defeats for Sussex, Durham and Kent saw their hopes of progression ended.

Yorkshire stayed top of Group B by beating Sussex, thanks in a large part to heroics from Milnes, who took two wickets in two balls in the fifth over and then bettered that with a hat-trick in the 45th over as the Hove hosts were restricted to 284-9.

A century from Pakistan international Imam-ul-Haq provided the foundation for a controlled Yorkshire reply along with a solid contribution from James Wharton (85), the pair breaking the back of the chase with a 196-run partnership for the second wicket.

Victory, achieved by six wickets and with 14 balls to spare, leaves Yorkshire as favourites to progress to the knockouts given a four-point lead over the chasing pack and a healthy net run-rate.

At Leicester, Brett D'Oliveira hit 107 from 105 balls in Worcestershire's 328, Rishi Patel taking 5-65.

In reply, a fifth-wicket stand of 163 between Shan Masood (88) and Ben Cox (76) helped Leicestershire recover from 23-4. But the Foxes' innings fell away again, with Ben Mike's unbeaten 72 from 46 balls not enough to steer them home.

Somerset, Bears and Middlesex in hunt

Somerset, who remain one of three teams on 20 points with one group match to go, beat Kent to end the latter's hopes of making the knockout stages and tighten their own grip on a top-three finish.

A partnership of 97 between Joe Denly (39) and his nephew Jaydn Denly (65) was ended as both fell in the same over, with Jack Leach taking both wickets as Kent were restricted to a below-par 269-9.

Tom Lammonby anchored Somerset's chase with a century (102 in 104 balls) – his second of the competition – as the Cidermen got home to win by four wickets with 33 balls remaining.

Four-wicket wins were popular in Group A with Warwickshire hauling in a sizeable total of 300-8 posted by Durham to win by that margin with 14 balls remaining.

Alex Lees made 148 in Durham's total, but Warwickshire captain Ed Barnard's 141, a 51 from Hamza Shaikh and a rapid 43 not out from Michael Booth got the Bears home.

Middlesex, who beat Northants Steelbacks also by four wickets, will need to keep fingers crossed for a defeat in the final game for Somerset, Warwickshire or deliver a pasting of Lancashire given their net run-rate is the worst of the four vying for a top-three finish in Group B.

Essex and Hants in battle for final qualification spot

Essex captain Tom Westley in action against Gloucestershire

In Group A, Essex and Hampshire will battle for the final qualification spot after posting victories over Gloucestershire and Derbyshire respectively.

Hampshire need only to win their final match against Gloucestershire to confirm their position in the knockouts while Essex will need to win against Derbyshire and hope Hampshire slip up.

A captain's knock of 92 from Tom Westley was the standout innings as Essex posted 289 from 49 overs, with half-centuries from Matt Critchley (64) and Simon Harmer (51).

In reply, a regular clatter of Gloucestershire wickets saw the chasers fall well short, all out for 159, Critchley starring with the ball by taking 3-27 as Essex won by 130 runs.

For Hampshire, four half-century contributions from Fletcha Middleton, Ben Brown, Ben Mayes and James Fuller saw them chase down Derbyshire's imposing total of 339-5 to win by three wickets with five balls to spare.

Surrey posted a 10-run win after Ralphie Albert's 75-ball 96 helped them rack up a defendable 289-8 which Notts failed to reach - but it was not enough to keep qualification hopes alive with both going out with one round to go.

Tuesday's fixtures

Group A

Derby: Derbyshire Falcons v Essex

Cardiff: Glamorgan v Leicestershire Foxes

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Hampshire

Worcester: Worcestershire v Surrey

Group B

Canterbury: Kent Spitfires v Yorkshire

Emirates Old Trafford: Lancashire v Middlesex

Taunton: Somerset v Northants Steelbacks

Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Sussex Sharks

Play starts at 11:00 BST