Moeen Ali has been busy for Worcestershire with the England all-rounder hitting boundaries off David Willey and Rory Kleinveldt's overs.

It seems as though Rapids captain Daryl Mitchell is simply watching his opening partner, having hit just three off his first six balls.

11 off the over, with a boundary apiece for James Vince and Sean Ervine. Hampshire could do with a few big overs to finish with....

Kent lose two wickets in four balls and it's another catch right on the boundary.

The Spitfires have two batsmen in on nought at a time when they really need to be accelerating...

James Faulkner takes over from Steven Croft. His first ball is a good length and Andrew Gale flashes hard to get an edge to the third-man boundary.

Faulkner responds perfectly with a quick, in-swinging yorker that sends the skipper's bails flying. Yorkshire in trouble early on - it's down to Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow now.

Image source, Getty Images

Sohail Tanvir starts to bowl a bit shorter but it looks an ill-advised change of plan as the first two balls of the over are smacked to the boundary by James Vince who brings up his half-century.

He snaps out of it and goes back to the yorkers which have served Somerset pretty well so far but it's still 13 off the over.

George Edwards bowls the second over and Andrew Gale takes a quick single to get Glenn Maxwell back on strike.

Maxwell advances down the pitch and tries to hit Edwards over the top but he can only smear the ball into the air. Alex Davies takes a good, running catch to dismiss the Big Show and give the Lancashire dug-out something to smile about.

Joe Root walks to the crease for the Tykes.

Image source, Kevin Hand

BBC London 94.9 commentator Kevin Hand:, external I think #OneDirection may have just been dropped off in Cardiff? Travel chaos tonight in Wales!

Glenn Maxwell isn't wasting any time - he reverse sweeps the first ball of the match, from Lancashire captain Steven Croft, for six. Three balls later he reverse-sweeps again, this time through the off-side for four.

The fourth ball is a more orthodox shot, driven through the covers but the ball races away again to the boundary. Then a full toss is heaved through the leg side for four. Just 18 off the first over then....

Six off the over and Hampshire need to up the scoring rate from here on in. With an in-form Chris Gayle on the opposing team - not to mention a fair few other more than decent batsmen - it's clear the visitors need to post a competitive total.

Alex Blake and Fabian Cowdrey look to have been give instructions to been more expansive with their batting as the Kent innings heads toward an end.

Blake, who manages nine in that over, hit 70 not out at the Rose Bowl not too long ago, can he produce some magic now?

What a great start for Essex as Tom Westley bowls the in-form Steven Davies from just the second ball of the night for nought.

Fresh from their first victory in the T20 Blast Worcestershire chose to bat first having won the toss with England all-rounder Moeen Ali returning at the top of the order and Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal returning to the Rapids side for the first time this season.

Fellow Pakistan player Shahid 'Boom Boom' Afridi will be hoping to make a big score as Northants search for their first victory in the competition this season.

Northants: Willey, Levi, Cobb, Wakely, Afridi, Crook, Keogh, Duckett, Kleinveldt, White, Azharullah

Worcestershire: Mitchell, Ali, Oliver, Kohler-Cadmore, Munro, Whiteley, Cox, Barnard, Leach, Shantry, Ajmal

Image source, Stuart Meaker

Surrey bowler Stuart Meaker:, external In the commentary box with the man that is @surreycricket. Here for the Surrey v Essex t20 game for the evening.

At The Oval, Surrey have won the toss and have chosen to bat.

Essex welcome England captain Alastair Cook into their ranks as they hope to record their second win in this year's T20 Blast.

Surrey: Roy, Davies, Sangakkara, Henriques, Mahmood, Wilson, Ansari, Batty (capt), Curran, Dunn, Burke

Essex: Ryder, Cook, Westley, Bopara, ten Doeschate (capt), Velani, Foster, Napier, Malik, Masters, Tait

Owais Shah become the latest Hampshire batsman to get out after getting in, so to speak. He misreads Jim Allenby's bowling and chips a simple chance for Jamie Overton to take above his head on the edge of the circle.

Another run off every ball in that over, but there are now boundaries and it's a leisurely pace from Kent who saw over 400 runs scored in their game with Somerset last week...

Five overs left for the hosts to try and kick start their innings.

Owais Shah hits the first six of the innings to bring the 100 up for Hampshire off Max Waller's bowling.

James Vince goes long too, but an athletic piece of fielding from Jamie Overton on the boundary ropes keeps the ball in play and saves the six.

Two dot balls end the over but 13 runs come from Waller's last action with the ball in hand.

Image source, Getty Images

With several England players released by the ECB to play for their counties in tonight's eight T20 matches, bowler Stuart Broad said he is "excited" to be playing for Nottinghamshire.

"It feels like a debut, my last T20 for Notts at Trent Bridge was in 2010," he told BBC Radio Nottinghamshire.

"Whenever I do get the chance, the changing room always welcomes me back and make me feel integrated.

"As England players, we are always keen to play with our counties whenever we get the opportunity."

Notts announce a team of almost entirely international players as Stuart Broad returns with Alex Hales and James Taylor also featuring before reporting for England ODI duty.

For Leicestershire, after winning their first County championship match in almost three years, Umar Akmal is handed his debut as they look to win away from home for the first time in the competition this season.

There is rain about and the covers are currently on but Leicestershire have won the toss and will field, with play hopefully starting on time.

Notts: Wessels, Hales, Taylor, Patel, Taylor, Sammy, Mullaney, Broad, Ball, Fletcher, Gurney

Leicestershire: Eckersley, Cosgrove, Raine, Boyce, Akmal, Agathangelou, Wells, Taylor, Sheikh, McKay, Naik

James Vince has lost his rhythm out in the middle for Hampshire. A low full toss from Jamie Overton is ripe for smacking to the boundary but Vince gets his timing wrong and gets nothing. Another decent over for Somerset, just three off it - just 15 off the last three overs.