Nervy Birmingham survive late collapse

Ed Pollock, Dom Sibley and Adam Hose all starred with the bat to help nervy Birmingham Bears into the quarter-finals of the NatWest T20 Blast as they beat Lancashire by two wickets with three balls to spare at Emirates Old Trafford.

Victory justified Birmingham's decision to omit their captain and former England batsman, Ian Bell, for the final match in response to an unproductive T20 season - but it was a close-run thing.

Chasing 164 on a used pitch, left-handed opener Pollock smashed 49 off 24 balls, including four sixes, to get things started.

New Bears signings Sibley and Hose then shared 84 in 10 overs for the second wicket to advance from 61 for one in the sixth before the Bears slipped from 145 for 1 in the 16th to 160 for 8 after 19, losing seven wickets in 23 balls.

Sibley finished 53 off 37 balls, while Hose added 49 off 35. They hit five sixes between them before Olly Stone hit the winning runs with four needed off the last over.

Hose and Sibley have only arrived at Edgbaston from Somerset and Surrey within the last month, and Pollock is in his maiden summer of first-team cricket.

For Lancashire, who have failed to qualify for the last eight since winning the Blast in 2015, they had to win and hope other results went their way to qualify.

The Bears are now targeting their second title in four years.

The Lightning would have been reasonably happy at halfway with their 163 for 4, underpinned by Jos Buttler's 58 off 42 balls. The England man's second half-century in three days was another measured effort and included two sixes after being inserted.

Having hit 36 without a boundary in Wednesday's win over Worcestershire here, Liam Livingstone (39) guided his very first ball from Stone to the third-man fence. He pulled two huge leg-side sixes, including the latter off leg-spinner Josh Poysden, which went out of the ground and onto the Brian Statham Way.

Buttler was elevated to No 3 and hit Sibley's leggies for a straight six in the 13th over to move into the twenties. By that stage, Lancashire were 100 for 2. He also hit Stone over long-off for six and shared 86 in 10 overs with inventive South African Dane Vilas, who made 30. Buttler miscued Stone to long-on in the 19th.

Poysden and Stone were the only two Bears wicket-takers with two apiece, with the former the pick as he conceded 28 from his four overs.

He hit Ryan McLaren for three sixes in the power play, including two over long-leg, before slapping a short ball from the seamer to cover with the score on 61 midway through the sixth over.

Sibley and Hose both offered relatively simple catches on 18 and 31 to Matt Parkinson at short fine-leg and Jordan Clark at long-off.

Hose hit 76 on his Bears debut in the win over Lancashire at Edgbaston late last month, and he demonstrated his power again by hitting three sixes over long-on.

But the Bears stumbled dramatically with victory in sight as Livingstone struck twice in two balls. Junaid Khan and Arron Lilley also claimed two wickets apiece, but Lancashire's success with the ball came too late.