Live coverage from ecb.co.uk as Lancashire Lightning handed Yorkshire Vikings a Roses thrashing, while Warwickshire Bears and Kent Spitfires triumphed over Gloucestershire Gladiators and Sussex Sharks respectively.
10:01pm - That concludes our Friends Life t20 action for tonight. Warwickshire kept their quarter-final hopes alive, while fellow victors Lancashire have put one foot in the last eight. Kent are playing for pride and did so spendidly this evening.
9:53pm - RESULT! Kent Spitfires (173/3) beat Sussex Sharks (164/6) by nine runs. When Scott Styris hit the second and third balls of Mitchell Claydon's final over for four and six respectively, Sussex fans were starting to dream. But the burly Australian seamer held his nerve to remove the dangerman for 14 and it was a formality from that point.
9:48pm - Ed Joyce is run out and Sussex need 23 from the final over with five wickets in hand.
9:40pm - RESULT! Warwickshire Bearts (149/3) beat Gloucestershire Gladiators (145/7) by seven wickets. It was comfortable enough in the end for Warwickshire, who reached their target with 14 balls to spare, thanks largely to that thrilling triple salvo from Clarke.
Machan has gone at Canterbury for 67, Vernon Philander with the wicket, and with him go Sussex's hopes barring a staggering turn of events.
9:34pm - Excellent work from Smith at Edgbaston. In the over after Clarke's blitz, the spinner restricted Warwickshire to two runs and a leg-bye before dismissing the big-hitter for 40. Gloucestershire will need more of that but they're in the game with Warwickshire 127 for three with 3.2 overs to go.
Chris Nash falls to Darren Stevens for 31 before Machan gets his foot down by going two, four, six from consecutive balls. Sussex need 46 from 24. If Machan stays there they might do it.
9:28pm - Fifty for Matt Machan, but victory is starting to look beyond Sussex despite the opener's best efforts. Despite having wickets in hand, the required rate stands at 12 an over from the last five.
9:24pm - THREE SIXES IN AN OVER FROM RIKKI CLARKE!!!! Those could be decisive blows for Warwickshire, with Ed Young the bowler on the receiving end. The hosts now need 27 from 30 balls.
9:20pm - Warwickshire are 93 for two, Chopra having fallen lbw for 37 to Gloucestershire's Tom Smith. There are six and a half overs remaining.
88 needed from 8 overs for the Sharks. Sussex 86/2 with Machan 38 and Nash 18 #sharklove
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC) July 24, 2013
9:02pm - Breakthrough for Kent. Matt Coles traps Hamilton-Brown lbw without further addition to his score.
At Edgbaston, Alex Gidman has accounted for Porterfield and the hosts are 76 for one in the 11th.
8:56pm - Warwickshire have eased to 58 without loss after eight overs, with Will Porterfield and Varun Chopra well set on 33 and 21 respectively.
Sussex have recovered well from that opening over blow and are 46 for one. Rory Hamilton-Brown has 24 of those.
8:48pm - The decisive nature of Lancashire's victory could well be significant beyond bragging rights. A hugely bolstered net run-rate means the Red Rose will be guaranteed a quarter-spot if Derbyshire Falcons fail to beat Leicestershire Foxes on Friday. If Derby prevail, anything but defeat at Trent Bridge against Notts Outlaws will see Lancashire through regardless.
8:44pm - RESULT! Lancashire Lightning (127/2) beat Yorkshire Vikings (124/8) by eight wickets. Rafiq's double strike was too little, too late. Karl Brown steadied the ship alongside Moore, who finished the job with yet another towering six. Lancashire were comfortably better than their rivals in all three departments and the result was a thrashing with nine overs to spare.
8:37pm - Warwickshire are 16 without loss in pursuit of 146, while Kent make the perfect start in the field...
Wicket!! Smith c Blake b Riley 1. Sussex 3/1 after 4 balls.
— Kent Cricket (@kentcricket) July 24, 2013
8:32pm - As if spurred on by Chris Devine's scorn, Yorkshire hit back! Azeem Rafiq has Smith stumped for a blistering 42 before Adam Lyth dives to dismiss Ashwell Prince for nought with a splendid one-handed catch off the same bowler. The score is 92 for two. Surely it's too little, too late?
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire (84/0) v Yorkshire (124/8) - I don’t wish to offend any Yorkshire fans, but this is an absolute pasting. Only seven overs have been bowled in the chase ... and Lancashire are almost home and dry! Sensational batting from Moore and Tom Smith!
8:26pm - You know that cakewalk my colleague just mentioned? Well Tom Smith seems intent on turning the Stephen Moore show into a double act. Some huge hitting from the all-rounder, including one frankly ridiculous six that hit the top of the double-tiered stand next to Emirates Old Trafford's new dressing rooms, has put Lancashire in complete command.
8:20pm - That last over score mentioned in the tweet below was embelished upon in fine fashion by Stevens. He struck the final ball from Lewis Hatchett for six to finish on 67 not out. The left-armer's closing over went for 20 and Kent post 173 for three.
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire (39/0) v Yorkshire (124/8) - It’s the Stephen Moore Show! The former Worcestershire opener has dashed to 37 inside four overs and Yorkshire need to strike quickly to prevent this becoming a cakewalk.
8:16pm - Gloucestershire's innings concludes on 145 for seven and they might have taken that having been asked to bat by Warwickshire. They'd have bitten your hand off for it at 10 for two, although it might have been more without Patel's late intervention.
Kent go into the last over on 153/3 Stevens 49, Blake 14
— Kent Cricket (@kentcricket) July 24, 2013
8:12pm - Two wickets in two balls for Jeetan Patel! The Warwickshire spinner bowls Klinger for an excellent 68 and sends Ed Young packing in similar fashion.
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire (12/0) v Yorkshire (124/8) - There is a suggestion in the press box that rain is scheduled to arrive in around half an hour, so it is probably in Lancashire’s interests to get ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis rate early. Stephen Moore does his best to aid that pursuit with successive leg-side fours off Iain Wardlaw.
8:06pm - A couple of wickets to tell you about: Alex Gidman is caught in the deep off Darren Maddy and Gloucestershire are 127 for five with two overs remaining, while Nash is bowled to become Liddle's third victim. The Sussex seamer has 3-35 from three eventful overs and Kent are 141 for three with 16 balls to improve their lot.
7:59pm - There are four overs to go at both Canterbury and Edgbaston. Kent are 132 for two, with Nash anchoring on 15 as Stevens lets fly. The latter has 44 from 32 deliveries including three sixes.
Klinger has a deserved fifty and Gloucestershire are 114 for four, in sight of a competitive score that looked a touch fanciful after that nightmare start.
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire v Yorkshire (124/8) - Despite Richard Pyrah biffing his way to 20 not out, Yorkshire finish with a rather modest 124 to their name. Lancashire were absoutely terrific in the field, epitomised by another run-out in the final over that saw Azeem Rafiq fail in his bid to steal a bye.
7:41pm - Sussex have applied the brakes to reasonable effect at Canterbury but it's hard to shake the impression Darren Stevens and Brendan Nash are set to go again. Kent are 93 for two at halfway.
7:38pm - Liam Plunkett is early on the shot to send a McClenaghan yorker to Croft at mid-off and Yorkshire are 112 for seven with eight balls remaining.
7:35pm - And the curse strikes again...
Wicket. Cockbain ct Portfield bowled Javid for 25. Gloucestershire 50-3 off 8.5 #youbears
— Warwickshire CCC (@CricketingBears) July 24, 2013
7:30pm - Liddle struck in the same over to remove Cowdrey for a brisk 40 and Kent must now rebuild, although 77 for two gives them a more than reasonable platform from which to do so.
It's a tougher salvage job for Gloucestershire but skipper Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain are making a decent fist of it. The score is 48 for two in the ninth at Edgbaston.
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire v Yorkshire (96/6) - Wow! Steven Croft is arguably the finest fielder in the country and he has just shown why with a stunning diving take at long-on to account for Ballance. That came after Adil Rashid departed following a classic case of 'yes ... no ... sorry' between the wickets. Yorkshire look short of par here.
7:22pm - My apologies to Mr Billings. Perhaps sensing the kiss of death Chris Liddle rearranges his stumps.
Talking of rearranged stumps, Adil Rashid is horribly run out after some expansive strokeplay threatened to turn things around for Yorkshire. As it is, they're 85 for five with five overs remaining.
7:20pm - There's absolutely no let-up from Kent openers Fabian Cowdrey and Sam Billings. They have 31 and 24 respectively to move their side to 59 without loss after five overs.
7:14pm - Warwickshire are more than vindicating skipper Varun Chopra's decision to field. Rikki Clarke has trapped Dan Christian leg before for nought and Gloucestershire are struggling on 12 for two after three
Meanwhile, Kent have flown out of the blocks....
Kent are batting first at Canterbury, the Spitfires are 23/0 in the 3rd over #sharklove
— Sussex CCC (@SussexCCC) July 24, 2013
7:10pm - We're not quite in Swann-Rogers territory, but Kerrigan just enjoyed a touch of fortune to bowl Jack Leaning. A ball after ripping a beauty past the youngster's outside edge, the England Lions spinner dropped a delivery halfway down and saw it chopped on.
7:07pm - It's a miserly old shift of medium-pace from Smith. He has impressive figures of 2-11 from his three overs so far.
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire v Yorkshire (53/3) - Three overs of spin brought 30 runs for Yorkshire, but they undo their hard work as Adam Lyth is caught at short fine-leg by Ashwell Prince off a Tom Smith slower ball.
Wicket! Dent bowled Javid. Gloucestershire 3-1 after 0.5 #youbears
— Warwickshire CCC (@CricketingBears) July 24, 2013
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire v Yorkshire (20/2) - The sun has made a welcome appearance to my left and things have started very brightly for Lancashire. Joe Sayers and Dan Hodgson have fallen cheaply attempting to break the shackles and Yorkshire could do with a bit of oomph from Gary Ballance.
6:49pm - This is an impressive start from Lancashire. Kerrigan, who received his county cap at the start of play, holds on to a steepler to dismiss Dan Hodgson, with McClenaghan the bowler celebrating. In-form Gary Ballance is the new man for Yorkshire and moves off the mark with a single.
6:44pm - Warwickshire will field first against Gloucestershire, while Kent have asked Sussex to do likewise after calling correctly.
6:43pm - Tom Smith's first delivery surprises Joe Sayers with extra bounce and Lancashire have their first wicket as he steers to Simon Kerrigan at cover point.
6:42pm - Fours of contrasting quality for Yorkshire opener Adam Lyth, who launches a Kabir Ali cutter to the deep midwicket fence with a solitary bounce before chopping just past his stumps to fine-leg.
McClenaghan has a speculative caught behind appeal rejected in a first over costing just two and Yorkshire are 15 without loss after three.
6:30pm - The teams are out and Croft has elected to open with his own off-spinners. The perks of captaincy!
ecb.co.uk's Chris Devine at Lancashire v Yorkshire: Greetings from Emirates Old Trafford. A pre-match power cut in the press box had me briefly reaching for my quill and ink, but I am pleased to say the assembled journalists now have electricity at their disposal once again. Time to focus on the cricket - and if this game is anything like the previous t20 meeting between the Roses rivals, we're in for a cracker.
6:14pm - Speaking to Sky Sports, McClenaghan has played down last night's heroics, claiming he was limited because he's "only got one shot"!
6:10pm - YORKSHIRE WIN THE TOSS AND BAT. The visitors choose to take first dig at Emirates Old Trafford, where Steven Croft captains the home side in the absence of Glen Chapple. The veteran seamer is laid low with a back spasm, but Lancashire welcome back Simon Katich following illness.
Phil Jaques and Jack Brooks are missing from the Yorkshire XI, while rain may become a factor later on if forecasts are to be believed.
6:05pm - As that preview mentions, Lancashire and Yorkshire tied in dramatic circumstances over at Headingley earlier in this month and the Red Rose remarkably repeated the trick last night when Mitchell McClenaghan audaciously reverse swept his first and only ball faced for four against Leicestershire Foxes.
5:55pm - Local hostilities get under way in Manchester at 6:30pm and we'll have toss and team news shortly.
The other two matches are slated for 7pm starts so, in the meantime, why not have a quick read of our preview?
5:50pm - Hello and welcome to our live coverage of tonight's Friends Life t20 matches, where there is the small matter of a Roses match on the agenda. Lancashire Lightning welcome Yorkshire Vikings to Emirates Old Trafford for a North Division clash that could see the hosts secure a quarter-final berth.
Kent Spitfires host Sussex Sharks in the South Division, while Warwickshire Bears and Gloucestershire Gladiators look to keep their faint hopes of progress from the Midlands,Wales & West Group alive.