Leicestershire's James Allenby took four wickets in successive balls but still ended on the losing side as they went down by 37 runs to Lancashire.

Allenby's Twenty20 first gave him figures of 5-21 but 44 off 24 balls from Kyle Hogg led Lancashire to 167.

The visitors made a poor start in reply as paceman Saj Mahmood picked up two wickets in his opening over.

And although HD Ackerman made 63, a spell of 4-21 from leg-spinner Simon Marshall restricted the Foxes to 130-8.

Marshall underlined the value of slow bowling in the shortest form of the game by removing the dangerous Boeta Dippenaar (35) and Paul Nixon (0) in the same over with the help of catches in the deep.

And he effectively ended Leicestershire's hopes of overhauling the target when Ackerman tried to add to his eight boundaries with a powerful drive, but was caught at extra cover by home skipper Stuart Law.

Ackerman's departure left the visitors having to score 62 off five overs, a task which proved well beyond the scope of their lower order.

Lancashire had kicked off their innings with a second-ball six from Lou Vincent and although he soon went for 16, a stand of 43 between Law (21) and Mal Loye (34) continued the positive tempo.

A mid-innings slump reduced them to 93-5 but Hogg, who struck four sixes, and Steven Croft (29) got them back on track by adding 70 in eight overs.

They were then overshadowed, however, by Allenby, who followed up his earlier success in bowling Francois du Plessis by cleaning up Hogg, Croft, Dominic Cork and Mahmood in an astonishing final over.

Marshall was run out off the final ball of the innings, but he had the final say in a game which left Lancashire on course for the quarter-finals and Leicestershire, the 2004 and 2006 winners, facing an uphill struggle to join them.