Led admirably so far by Kasey Aldridge and boosted by the availability of superstar all-rounder Stokes, Durham have cut an impressive swathe through the first three rounds of the competition.

But after winning the toss and electing to bat at York, they were cut down in brutal style to post 165 in 48.1 overs as Ben Cliff (4-38) and overseas spinner Kuldeep Yadav (2-23) dominated, the latter dismissing Stokes for 12.

Yorkshire spluttered a touch early in their reply with Liam Robinson and Stokes striking to leave the hosts 5-2 in the third over.

But Will Bennison (36) steadied the ship with Wharton (68 not out) before the latter chased down the total with Whiteman (52 not out) to help Yorkshire to a seven-wicket win with 54 balls to spare.

Middlesex opener Josh de Caires is enjoying a fine tournament with both bat and ball having posted a career best 75 and 6-35 against Hampshire last week, and he raised his mark with the bat to 130 against Worcestershire as his previously unbeaten side posted 293-7.

Unfortunately for Ben Geddes’s side he was unable to add a wicket as the Rapids judged their chase to perfection.

Brett D’Oliveira (50) ensured the hosts got their reply motoring, but it was Jake Libby with an unbeaten 109 and Henry Cullen (73) who combined for a 117-run partnership for the fourth wicket, leaving Worcestershire needing 70 from 57 balls.

Middlesex bagged two more wickets, but could not get the pivotal one of Libby as Worcestershire went third in Group B with Yorkshire’s earlier win dropping Middlesex to second spot.

Essex opener Noah Thain continued his fine form with the bat in this competition by posting the second century of his campaign, but it was not enough to prevent Hampshire winning a second match to move up a place to fifth.

The 21-year-old sits second in the batting charts with 325 runs behind Yorkshire’s Will Luxton (335) after his 109 here as Essex scored 317 in 49 overs after electing to bat first at Chelmsford.

However, Ashutosh Sharma, with 5-51, went one better to move top of the wicket-taking charts.

Hampshire were in good order in reply as captain Nick Gubbins (53), Fletcha Middleton (47), Tom Prest (51) and James Fuller (58 not out) all contributed in a total of 321-7, getting home with 14 balls to spare to win by three wickets.

In the other Group B match, Derbyshire posted a first win of the competition at the fourth time of asking, beating Glamorgan by 44 runs at Repton.

Wicketkeeper Brooke Guest hit an unbeaten 108 and was ably supported by Caleb Jewell (84) as Derbyshire posted 315-5 in 50 overs.

Zain-ul-Hassan (61) and Alex Horton (81) did their best to keep Glamorgan in the hunt but the latter’s exit with 53 still needed from 28 balls removed all the wind from their sails. The last two wickets fell in the 48th over as the innings was becalmed.