Dalrymple leads charge

Jamie Dalrymple hit 26 off just 15 deliveries © Getty Images

Middlesex moved into second place in the South Division of the Twenty20 Cup after an eight-wicket victory over Surrey at Lord’s.

Rain brought the hosts’ innings to an abrupt halt after 13.3 overs with the score on 85 for five with only James Benning (31) and Alistair Brown (19) reaching double figures.

After the Duckworth/Lewis calculation Middlesex were set a revised target of 73 from 10 overs and they raced to only their second win of the season with 14 balls remaining.

Opener Eoin Morgan made 25 not out off 18 balls while Jamie Dalrymple hit an unbeaten 26 off 15 deliveries.

Worcestershire won only their second match of the Twenty20 season with a three-wicket victory over Somerset at Taunton in the Midlands/West/Wales Division.

Roger Sillence hit a crucial 19 not out off 11 balls as the visitors chased down a target of 149 with just two balls to spare.

Australian opener Phil Jaques had laid the foundations with 59 off 50 balls and once Steve Davies had departed for 30 the stage was clear for Sillence to guide his side to victory.

Justin Langer had earlier struck 45 of 36 balls with James Hildreth hitting 40 off 27 as the hosts posted 148 for seven.

Andrew Gale’s 56 off 52 balls paved the way for Yorkshire’s comfortable six-wicket win over Durham in the North Division.

Chasing the hosts’ 133 for five, Gale led the way with Anthony McGrath (29) and Gerard Brophy (28) making significant contributions as victory came with two balls to spare.

Gordon Muchall had top scored for Durham, hitting just two fours in a 37-ball 41, with Phil Mustard (26), Dale Benkenstein (23) and Garry Park (23) the other contributors.

Sussex kept themselves in the hunt for a quarter-final place with a 17-run South Division win against Essex in a result delayed by a floodlight failure.

The Sharks had posted 163 for six from their 20 overs when the lights went out at Hove.

It did not prevent Essex eventually being able to bat their full allocation of overs but they could only muster 146 for five.

Luke Wright (44) and Chris Adams (43) led the way for Sussex, but Ravi Bopara was the star of the show in a losing cause for Essex after claiming two wickets with the ball and scoring 55 runs with the bat.