TWENTY20 CUP REVIEW

Veteran New Zealander Chris Cairns scored 50, his maiden Twenty20 half-century, off 40 balls to help Nottinghamshire return to the top of the North Division with a five-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.

The 38-year-old came out of retirement to sign for a sixth spell at Notts as a Kolpak player for this competition. Notts reached a target of 150 with two balls to spare, Cairns putting on 63 with captain Chris Read (29 not out) before Mark Ealham hit the winning runs off James Allenby.

HD Ackerman scored 55 off 45 balls opening in Leicestershire’s 149 for seven, his third consecutive half-century.

Notts had Adam Voges and Samit Patel dismissed early but Will Jefferson hit five fours and Bilal Shafayat compiled a patient 27, setting the scene for Cairns and Read to up the tempo. Read smashed Jagir Naik for six over mid-wicket while Cairns hit two consecutive fours off Allenby to leave Notts needing 18 off two overs.

Leicestershire, having won the toss, reached 114 for three in 14 overs. But the loss of three wickets in 11 balls meant they added only 35 in the final six overs.

At Lord’s, Middlesex continued their unbeaten start to the Twenty20 Cup with a comfortable 38-run win over Sussex thanks to Billy Godleman scoring 58 off only 34 balls in their 177 for seven. Superb bowling by Middlesex restricted Sussex to only 139 for nine, Dirk Nannes taking three for 19.