CLYDESDALE BANK 40, Old Trafford:
Sussex 248-6 (39.2 ovs) bt Lancashire 244-7 (40 ovs) by four wickets
Match scorecard

Yardy hit a six and three boundaries in his 50-ball knock

Michael Yardy played a captain's innings to guide Sussex into second place in Group A of the CB 40 with a four-wicket victory over Lancashire.

Chasing 245 to win, Ed Joyce (46) gave Sussex a good start before 71 from Joe Gatting kept them up with the run rate.

And although Andrew Hodd and Yasir Arafat fell late on, Yardy (46 not out) saw his side home with four balls left.

Earlier, stand-in captain Paul Horton top scored with 69 in Lancashire's 244-7, James Kirtley taking 3-35.

With Sussex needing 31 off the last four overs with six wickets left, Lancashire were still very much in the game.

But although Tom Smith bowled Hodd two balls after seeing the Sussex wicketkeeper dropped by Karl Brown on the boundary, Yardy pulled Saj Mahmood for six in the following over to swing the game firmly in his side's favour.

Victory saw Sussex climb above Surrey into second place behind Somerset in the Group A table, albeit having played two games more than their two main rivals for a semi-final spot.

Meanwhile, Lancashire, who awarded county caps to Steven Croft, Kyle Hogg and Smith before the game, are all but out as they trail leaders Somerset by six points with only four games left.

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