Ealham boosts Notts to the top

Nottinghamshire climbed to the top of the table with a five-wicket victory against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge. Mark Ealham offered slim pickings in his four overs, which went for just 15 runs - and he bagged a wicket, too - as Leicestershire made just 136 for 8. But Ealham wasn't finished there: he then blasted 31 from a mere seven balls to take his side home. That knock included four sixes and one four.

Sussex kept up their strong challenge for a place in the semi-finals with a convincing five-wicket win against Surrey in front of a moderate crowd at The Oval. Yasir Arafat blew Surrey away with 4 for 31 - they capitulated for 131 with most falling to risky, if predictable, aerial shots. Sussex were in some difficulty at 36 for 4 but a succession of roundly-booed dropped catches allowed the visitors to complete what was, in the end, a comfortable win. Three successive defeats for Surrey, who had started so well, now leave them needing victories - and hoping the others slip up.

Speaking of slipping up, Middlesex didn't so much as trip up as fall flat on their faces yet again, this time at the hands of Kent who are looking odds-on for a quarter-final berth. Kent chose to bat at Beckenham and made a not-unchaseable 178 for 5, but Middlesex folded for 126, largely through the efforts of James Tredwell, who grabbed four wickets.

High-flying Gloucestershire sealed the deal against nearest challengers Glamorgan with a seven-wicket win in a rain-reduced match at Bristol. Glamorgan made 162 for 5 off their 17 overs, with David Hemp making 42. But Ian Harvey took the game away from Glamorgan with 48 from 21 balls, and Chris Taylor ensured they took the points, with a match-winning 55 not out.