setting a target of 129 on the fourth. It was clear they were not going to win, and Yorkshire gave them no chances, winning by 10 wickets. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Essex (11–14 May) Northamptonshire (12pts) drew with Essex (6pts) At Northampton the home side batted first. Bilal Shafayat (153) and Usman Afzaal (168) scored two huge centuries to help Northamptonshire to 552 for 7 declared. When Essex finally got to bat, it was a different story, with the batsmen, particularly the tail, struggling. Johann Louw took 6 for 51, as Essex subsided to 178. The follow-on was enforced, and from then on the bat dominated again. Alastair Cook made a career-best 195 in 513 minutes, supported by Zimbabwean Andy Flower, who made 142 not out, as Essex eased to the draw at 495 for 6 declared. (Cricinfo scorecard) Lancashire v Northamptonshire (15 May) Lancashire (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by seven wickets Lancashire Lightning eased to a comfortable win against Northamptonshire Steelbacks to go third in the table, two points behind leaders Middlesex Crusaders. Northamptonshire won the toss and batted, but 215 for 7 was never going to be enough on a fine Old Trafford pitch, where Lancashire's Mal Loye smashed 94 not out with ten fours and three sixes. There were good news for England fans as well – Test all-rounder Andrew Flintoff bowled 9 overs for Lancashire without complain from his recently operated ankle, taking the wicket of England prospect Bilal Shafayat in the process. (Cricinfo scorecard) Middlesex v Northamptonshire (17 May) Northamptonshire beat Middlesex by 19 runs to progress to the Quarter-Finals of the C&G Trophy Northamptonshire batted first at Lord's. Their top order performed well, with Usman Afzaal making 75 off 120 balls, and useful contributions from Bilal Shafayat (46) and David Sales (40). However, once they were out, 7 wickets fell for 40 runs, leaving them on 215 for 9, before Robert White smacked 36 to lift the visitors to 238. Middlesex got off to a good start, reaching 148 for 2 and 168 for 3, as opener Paul Weekes scored a century. However, then Damien Wright took 4 wickets for 1 in 7 balls, as Middlesex collapsed in more spectacular fashion than the visitors, losing their last 6 wickets for 8 runs. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Bangladeshis (20–22 May) Northamptonshire drew with the Bangladeshis On the first day at Northampton, Northamptonshire made 149 for