rehearsal for the final, and Australia's 261 for 9 set the stage well. But rain was always expected and the contest was rained off as a "no result" with England 37 for 1 off 6 overs in their reply. Bangladesh's tour of England ended with a creditable performance against Australia in the ninth ODI, although their 250 for 8 was ultimately overcome by the Aussie with six wickets and eleven balls left after they had wobbled earlier in the innings. At the same time, the Twenty20 Cup was continuing apace, and Oxford University (610 for 5 declared) beat Cambridge University (129 and 268), with Salil Oberoi's 247 gaining positive comment in his native India. July July began with Twenty20 Cup group games, before England tied the final of the NatWest Series after coming back from 33 for 5 to post 196 for 9 – the same as Australia – on 2 July. Two days later, Lancashire became the first team to qualify for the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals, and the following day Northamptonshire and Surrey joined them. The final round of the group stage of the Twenty20 Cup was played on 6 July. Middlesex made it through from the South Division despite loss – while Sussex, Middlesex' conquerors, were knocked out. Warwickshire and Somerset qualified from the Midlands/Wales/West Division thanks to wins over Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire respectively, while Derbyshire sneaked through from the North Division after a win over Nottinghamshire, and Leicestershire defeated Yorkshire to join them. In the NatWest Challenge, a three-ODI series played over five days, England won the first ODI but lost the next two to lose the series 1–2, their only tournament loss in the entire season. In the County Championship, Nottinghamshire enjoyed the lead in Division One for a couple of days after beating Glamorgan by ten wickets – Glamorgan's eighth loss – but Kent, whose match started on 10 July took it back despite losing to Sussex, the six bonus points being enough to take the lead. In Division Two of the Championship, Durham's lead was closed from 21 points to 11 after losing to Lancashire by an innings and 228 runs, the highest margin of victory thus far in the season. The following day, Surrey got off the last place in Division Two of the totesport League thanks to a three-run victory over Yorkshire, but Surrey were knocked out of the C&G Trophy on