One-Day Cup: Warwickshire skipper Will Rhodes hits first one-day ton as Bears beat Notts

Warwickshire skipper Will Rhodes hit five sixes in his maiden List A ton, beating his previous best of 76 for the Bears

Warwickshire skipper Will Rhodes’ first one-day ton helped the Bears keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the One-Day Cup.

With just two games left now for the majority of teams before Tuesday’s final round of qualifying, Leicestershire lead Group A – but six other teams can still qualify.

In Group B, 100 per cent Hampshire look nailed on, with 10 points.

But Lancashire, Essex and Yorkshire are leading the charge to join them.

Although Yorkshire lost to Essex, second-placed Lancashire swept aside Glamorgan, who suffered their fourth defeat in a row – a loss that means that the reigning champions’ chances of defending the title they won a year ago this week are now gone.

In Group A, while the top two Leicestershire and Sussex both won, the Bears defied the rain in Birmingham to go into Friday’s meeting with Middlesex at Radlett just a point behind their opponents, to set up a game neither side can seemingly now afford to lose.

“The win keeps us in the mix,” Rhodes told BBC Radio WM. “Now we go to Radlett, which is another outground for the boys.

“There have been some high scores there and Middlesex have got a very strong team.”

Group A – Foxes on course for home semi

Leicestershire beat Gloucestershire by four wickets at Bristol for a third straight win, which keeps them top of the group and on course for a home semi-final.

Louis Kimber claimed a career-best 4-61 as the hosts were restricted to 262-9 despite half-centuries from Marcus Harris (58) and Jack Taylor (50).

Kimber then hit 68 from 70 balls, ably supported by skipper Lewis Hill (82) and Wiaan Mulder (56 not out) as the Foxes reached 263-6 to win with four overs to spare.

“We’re in a very good position with a couple of games to play,” said Leicestershire skipper Lewis Hill. “It feels good to win and it looks as though we have a new spinner in Louis Kimber, who is turning into a really good acquisition for us.”

Gloucestershire must now win their remaining two matches against Surrey and Middlesex this weekend and hope other results go their way if they are to have any chance of progressing to the knockout stages.

Sussex stay second, two points behind Leicestershire, thanks to a four-wicket win over Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Graham Clark top-scored for the hosts with 69 and George Drissell made 37 as Durham’s young side reached 228-8.

Ali Orr (60), in-form Cheteshwar Pujara, with an unbeaten 49, and opener Tom Alsop (43) then saw Sussex to 229-6, to win with four balls to spare.

Tom Lawes made 60 then took two wickets for Surrey as Somerset suffered a sixth straight defeat — Tom Lawes made 60 then took two wickets for Surrey as Somerset suffered a sixth-straight defeat

Warwickshire were made to work for their 14-run win over Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston, as they moved to within a point of their next opponents Middlesex.

In a rain-reduced 34-over match on an overcast day in Birmingham, home skipper Will Rhodes hammered a superb 113 in the Bears’ 271-6, aided chiefly by opener Rob Yates (46) in a 113-run second-wicket stand.

But Notts made a valiant attempt to get home, with excellent knocks from skipper Haseeb Hameed (51), Ben Slater (47), Liam Patterson-White (43) and teenager Fateh Singh (25 off 22 balls) as they were finally bowled out in the final over for 257.

“We took wickets at important times,” said Rhodes. “If you can keep taking wickets in white-ball cricket it always helps. Olly Hannon-Dalby has proven over the years what a great death bowler he is and he did a great job again and George Garrett and I managed to close the game out.”

Surrey teenager Tom Lawes starred with bat and ball as the hosts beat Somerset to hand the winless Cidermen a sixth-straight defeat.

After 70 from Nico Reifer and 66 from Sheridon Gumbs, 19-year-old Lawes smashed 60 from 49 balls in Surrey’s 302-9.

But after Somerset struggled to 68-3 in reply, the heavens opened after 12 overs – and that earned Surrey a 43-run Duckworth-Lewis-Stern victory.

It was Surrey’s second group win but like Somerset and Durham, both without a point, they cannot now reach the knockout stages.

Group B – Derbyshire downed by ‘bat tape’ punishment

Any lingering hopes Derbyshire had of reaching the knockout stages were ended first by a points penalty, then by their rain-off with Kent at Derby.

First Derbyshire were deducted two points for all-rounder Mattie McKiernan using a bat that failed a gauge test, due to using too much bat tape, in last Friday’s group defeat by Hampshire.

Then came the abandonment of their match with Kent, whose single point gained also leaves their hopes in the balance and probably needing to win both their final two games.

McKiernan was charged and accepted a breach of ECB Directives 3.2 and 3.3 after he used a bat that failed the test “due to excessive tape being applied”.

“An adjudicator of the Cricket Discipline Commission considered McKiernan’s clean record and apology and accepted that it was an unintentional breach of the directives,” said an ECB statement.

Keaton Jennings helped Lancashire beat Glamorgan with ease at The Gnoll

Lancashire climbed back to within a point of Hampshire at the top of the group with a comfortable nine-wicket win over holders Glamorgan in Neath.

Tom Bailey took took 3-22 as Lancashire’s all-seam attack bowled out Glamorgan for 177 at The Gnoll.

Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings then hit an unbeaten 77 to steer his side home with 14 overs to spare, aided by Luke Wells (50) and Josh Bohannon (48 not out).

“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going,” said Jennings. “We can ensure a top-three finish on Tuesday. We definitely want that home quarter-final.”

In another game settled by DLS, Essex beat Yorkshire at Chelmsford by 88 runs.

South African Grant Roelofsen hit 90 off 97 balls, backed by Tom Westley’s 52 before Essex lost their last eight wickets for just 56 runs as they were bowled out for 240, with 23 balls unused.

Yorkshire were soon in trouble in pursuit of 241, losing four wickets in the first six overs, and never recovered before heavy rain ended play, earning Essex the win.

That lifts them above Yorkshire into third, but the Tykes still have a game in hand.

Bottom side Worcestershire finally notched their first group win at the sixth attempt as they beat Northamptonshire by six wickets in another rain-reduced game at Wantage Road.

Northants reached 248-4 from 39, thanks largely to an unbeaten 104 from skipper Will Young, 70 from Ricardo Vasconcelos and 50 for Lewis McManus.

But Azhar Ali (130) and Taylor Cornall (61) shared an opening stand of 138 as the Pears reached 257-4 two balls into the 39th over to win by six wickets on the DLS method.