Outlaws coast home after Myburgh shines on debut

Set a paltry 115 to win, the Outlaws reached their target with 3.4 overs to spare in the Northern Group, their other game, against Derbyshire, having been washed out on Friday.

Openers Alex Hales and Michael Lumb took them more than halfway there, putting on 62 for the first wicket before Hales came down the pitch to Scott Borthwick and was stumped when the leg-spinner beat the bat.

Hales made a run-a-ball 30, Lumb 46 off 39 balls – the latter punching his bat in frustration when a delivery from Mitchell Claydon slipped off the face of his bat and he was caught on the cover boundary.

But at 94-3 in the 14th over, the job was almost done.

Durham had been indebted to Johann Myburgh for making it to three figures after a dreadful start. The 31-year-old former Hampshire player joined on Thursday for the duration of the tournament. He top-scored for the Dynamos with 45 from 41 deliveries.

Durham hit just seven boundaries and Myburgh contributed five of them. That included their only six, from a lovely pick-up off his pads off Harry Gurney.

Myburgh put on 60 with Gordon Muchall for the fifth wicket as Durham recovered from 30-4.

Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 58 saw Somerset to a thrilling five-wicket win over Northants with one ball to spare at Taunton.

Buttler, overlooked for England’s latest one-day international squad, produced two scooped boundaries off the last two balls of the penultimate over to reach a brilliant half-century off 36 balls after Northants had posted 137-5 after winning the toss.

Kent got off the mark with a convincing eight-wicket victory over Surrey at Beckenham.

Led by Rob Key, who hit an unbeaten 51, and Darren Stevens, whose 43 not out came off just 25 balls and included four sixes, the hosts cantered home with 22 deliveries to spare after Surrey could only muster 116-7 in their 20 overs.

Chris Liddle bowled a stunning penultimate over to help Sussex clinch an 11-run victory over Middlesex at Lord’s.

Liddle took three wickets in four balls to finish with career-best figures of 5-17 and wreck Middlesex’s hopes of topping 143-8.

Toby Roland-Jones (2-19) and Gareth Berg (3-17) had put Sussex in trouble after they had won the toss but they fought back from 26-3 to post a competitive total thanks to Murray Goodwin (43) and Scott Styris (48).

Worcestershire got their campaign under way with dazzling half-centuries by Moeen Ali (82 off 44 balls) and Phil Hughes (78 not out off 48) in a comfortable 47-run victory over Gloucestershire, who folded for 166 in reply to 213-2 at New Road.