Dutch–South African Ryan ten Doeschate made a career-best 89 not out with five sixes as Essex Eagles made their way to 273 for 6 at Chelmsford. Sajid Mahmood was the main recipient of ten Doeschate's boundary-hitting – ending with figures of two for 67 in nine overs. England Under-19 player Tom Smith, who had taken 15 Test wickets in three U-19 matches with Sri Lanka, finished with 42 conceded runs off his five overs. When Lancashire Lightning batted, Darren Gough got the early wicket of Iain Sutcliffe, and despite scores in the 30s from Andrew Crook and Mal Loye, Lancashire lost their first four wickets for 91 runs. Andrew Symonds rebuilt with Mark Chilton, but once Symonds was bowled by Gough – who ended with four for 31 – Lancashire began to lose wickets, as the last six fell for 65. Kyle Hogg took 25 balls for his 36, lifting Lancashire to a total of 218, but they were still defeated.