Lancashire and Derbyshire played out a thrilling tie at Emirates Old Trafford which does neither side any favours in terms of Vitality Blast quarter-final qualification, as Nick Potts yorked Matty Hurst with the last ball with scores level.

Derbyshire were restricted to 150 for 9 thanks to two wickets apiece for James Anderson, Liam Livingstone and Tom Hartley. Opener Martin Andersson top-scored with 49 off 37 balls.

Several Lancashire batters got in without kicking on, as Pakistani wristspinner Sufyan Moqim stood out with 3 for 15. With nine needed off the last three balls, Hurst struck back-to-back boundaries but lost his middle stump as he came down the pitch to Potts’ yorker, and was left distraught as Derbyshire shared the points.

Despite the loss of captain Aneurin Donald, caught behind trying to hit Anderson back over his head, Derbyshire made a fast start. Donald had hit a couple of leg-side sixes off quick Mitch Stanley before Andersson took successive boundaries off Hartley’s left-arm spin as the score advanced to 44 for 1 after four overs.

The excellent Anderson struck again for the Lightning when Yousaf Bin Naeem was caught at deep backward square leg shortly afterwards before the spin of Livingstone, Shadab Khan and Hartley really put the squeeze on the Falcons.

Shadab’s legspin had a sweeping Wayne Madsen lbw with the googly – 66 for 3 in the eighth over – before Livingstone and Hartley both struck twice in an over as the Falcons slipped to 121 for 7 after 16 overs. In all, they lost six wickets in the last six overs on a surface which gripped.

Keaton Jennings dragged early sixes over deep midwicket off Matt Montgomery and Akif Javed before Montgomery gained revenge by bowling the Lancashire captain for 23 as the score fell to 35 for 1 in the fifth over.

Like Jennings, fellow opener Michael Jones failed to get out of the twenties and was bowled on 28 by the pace of Pakistani left-armer Akif with the score on 61 in the ninth over.

But Livingstone opened his shoulders shortly afterwards to launch former county colleague Jack Morley over long-on for six and move into double figures.

Sufyan created some doubt when he had Ben McDermott caught at deep midwicket and Joe Moores caught behind next ball – 80 for 4 after 13 overs – and even more so when he had Livingstone caught at deep midwicket for 31 the ball after being hit for six in the 15th.

Lancashire needed 30 off the last two overs, but Hurst and Jack Blatherwick hit a six apiece as 17 came off Akif in the penultimate. Hurst hit two fours off Potts over the off-side to leave one needed off the last ball, but was bowled by a brilliantly executed delivery.

The result leaves Derbyshire realistically needing to win their final three group matches and Lancashire their last two to stand a realistic chance of qualification for the quarter-finals. It also means that group leaders Nottinghamshire have officially sealed their spot in the knockout stages.