Iain Sutcliffe - half century at Derby Photo CricInfo

The new round of Benson and Hedges Cup matches has seen Lancashire and Northamptonshire prosper with the bat, while the bowlers of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Sussex appear to have the upper hand in the other matches. Meanwhile, it was another case of rain stopped play at Derby.

Leicestershire, looking to go to the top of their group table, have had their hopes of progress at Derby thwarted by rain. Iain Sutcliffe was undefeated on 52, having opened the innings and seen Trevor Ward dismissed for 36 and his captain, Vince Wells fall for seven, both to Derbyshire seamer Tom Lungley. Shortly before the rain came, he had been joined by Michael Bevan and, at 119 for two from 32 overs, the pair were in a position to press on for a sizeable total.

In the same group, Lancashire's batsmen have put themselves in a good position to record their first win in the competition this season. They went along at very nearly six an over against the Nottinghamshire attack at Old Trafford to reach 297 for five in their 50 overs. Leading the way was Mark Chilton with 102, while fellow-opener Glen Chapple was out for exactly 50 and there were forties for Stuart Law and Graham Lloyd.

Gloucestershire have confirmed their position as the team to beat in their group. Glamorgan elected to bat against the attack that has bowled Worcestershire and Warwickshire out for under a hundred this season, and at least had the satisfaction of reaching three figures. David Hemp led the way with 62 as Glamorgan reached 171 for eight in their 50 overs – ten more than Gloucestershire's other opponents could muster between them.

Warwickshire have not fared much better in the new round of matches. They were bowled out by Worcestershire for just 130. That was despite an innings of 40 from Ian Bell and one of 30 by captain Michael Powell. Andy Bichel was Worcestershire's main wicket-taker with four.

Northamptonshire's batsmen enjoyed themselves at Taunton again Somerset. They reached 299 for six, with 87 for Mike Hussey, 76 from David Sales and 56 from Mal Loye. Loye, making a fine start to the season, was one of two stumpings for Somerset wicket-keeper Rob Turner.

There were three wickets each for James Kirtley and Billy Taylor as Hampshire were restricted to 203 for nine by Sussex at Hove. Several Hampshire batsmen got in, but none could stay to build the substantial innings that might have led to a more competitive total.

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