Yorkshire reach knockouts despite defeat

Yorkshire surrendered top spot in the north division of the Royal London Cup after defeat by Warwickshire but still qualified for the knockout rounds along with Worcestershire.

The group phase of the competition ends this week with matches tomorrow and Wednesday, when the remaining qualification spots will be decided. Worcestershire guaranteed a home tie in the knockout stages when they beat Durham by 15 runs to move top of the division.

Champions Warwickshire reduced Yorkshire to 50 for three before Joe Root made 83 and added 116 for the sixth wicket with Tim Bresnan to post a total of 281 for eight. Warwickshire’s experienced core of Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Rikki Clarke led the run chase and wrapped up a five-wicket win.

Tom Westley made a century as Essex edged closer to a home semi-final tie with a 72-run win over Somerset. Westley scored exactly 100 and Ravi Bopara 92 as Essex made 334 for six.

Kumar Sangakkara’s unbeaten 124 helped Surrey beat Hampshire by 66 runs to move into third in the south group and keep alive their chance of reaching the knockout phase. Hampshire’s imports George Bailey and Kyle Abbott shared 152 for the eighth wicket but Sangakkara’s masterclass put Surrey in total command before rain came and forced a DuckworthLewis calculation, which knocked Hampshire out of the competition.

Sussex played their first game in Eastbourne for 17 years but a century for Jack Taylor gave

Gloucestershire victory.

Lancashire can still qualify if they beat Durham tomorrow, but a defeat at Trent Bridge by

Nottinghamshire hit their chances. Notts struggled at first chasing 260, but Samit Patel and Steven Mullaney came together at 84 for three and took their side to a comfortable win.

The teams topping the groups go through to the semi-finals. The second and third-placed teams will play a quarter-final, with the winners going into the semis.