Cool Taylor hauls Notts over line

Nottinghamshire breathed new life into their NatWest T20 Blast campaign as they won a last-ball thriller by three wickets over rivals Lancashire at Old Trafford. With six needed off the last two balls, captain James Taylor hit successive boundaries to seal victory.

Nottinghamshire, who lost the toss, won for the sixth time after reducing the hosts to 13 for 3 to move level on points with fourth-placed Lancashire on 12 points from 12. Lancashire are only ahead on net run-rate with two North Group matches left after failing to defend 137 for 4 on a slow pitch, a total which included a pair of 51s for Karl Brown and Steven Croft.

This was their fourth home defeat in six this season, having previously never lost more than twice at this venue in a Twenty20 campaign.

Former Lancashire allrounder Steven Mullaney excelled in returning 1 for 14 from four overs of canny medium pace before Notts made hard work of the chase.

They lost three wickets for 19 to slip from 63 for 1 in the 11th over and ended up needing 13 off the last against Kyle Jarvis. Taylor kept cool to finish 33 not out off 21.

Early wickets for Samit Patel, Harry Gurney and a run out hurt the hosts as Ashwell Prince chipped to mid-off, Paul Horton chopped on and Alex Davies was run out without facing a ball going for two. But Brown ensured Nottinghamshire did not have things all their own way as he hit all of six boundaries accrued in a Powerplay score of 36 for 3.

In fact, the in-form right-hander scored all of Lancashire's first eight boundaries on the way to a 39-ball fifty, his third in a row, as he helped them reach 69 for 3 after 11.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Brown holed out to long-on in the next off the medium pace of his childhood best-mate Mullaney as the score slipped to 70 for 4 and ended a 57-run partnership with Croft.

They went without a four or six from the fifth ball of the 11th over to the third ball of the 17th, although Croft and James Faulkner shared 67 unbroken for the fifth wicket to carry their side to something to bowl at.

Notts lost Michael Lumb to a Jarvis slower ball in the third over of their chase and only reached six overs at 28 for 1. At halfway, they were 61 for one, needing 77 more with Alex Hales (30) and Riki Wessels together. But they lost 3 for 19 inside three overs to put the game back in the balance at 82 for 4 in the 14th.

Wessels cut Jordan Clark to point, ending a 47-run stand with Hales, who then miscued Stephen Parry's left-arm spin to midwicket, before Patel also cut Clark to point.

The target went to 45 off the last five overs and 21 off 11 balls when Faulkner yorked compatriot Dan Christian and had Mullaney brilliantly caught at deep midwicket by a running Arron Lilley - leaving Notts 117 for six in the 19th. Chris Read also fell in the last over but the visitors made it home.