YORKSHIRE have been knocked out of the Vitality Blast by champions Nottinghamshire, who chased down 164 at Emerald Headingley and advanced to next weekend’s quarter-finals.

The Vikings suffered their seventh defeat in 14 North Group games to miss out on the knockouts for the second year running.

They dropped out of the top four places as Notts returned a polished display, particularly with the ball on an unusually two-paced surface.

Captain David Willey’s 51 off 40 balls was the top-score in Yorkshire’s 163-6, which also including 44 apiece for Adam Lyth and Kane Williamson.

Ex-England left-arm seamer Harry Gurney impressed with 1-16 from four overs in an innings which saw only one wide conceded.

Current England star Alex Hales then led the chase with 71 not out off 56 balls.

It was his top score in five innings in this season’s Blast and helped secure an eight-wicket win with an over remaining.

Ahead of this fixture, Yorkshire and Notts were level on 14 points from 13 games, with the Vikings just ahead courtesy of a better net run-rate.

Willey posted his second fifty in two nights after his 79 in the win over former county Northamptonshire.

He shared 150 for the second wicket with Lyth at Wantage Road, but they fell eight short of making it back-to-back century partnerships when the latter top-edged a sweep off Steven Mullaney behind, making it 96-2 in the 13th.

Willey then followed in the next over from the Kirkstall Lane End when he pulled Luke Fletcher to deep midwicket as the score slipped to 106-3.

Yorkshire’s innings was a far cry from the fireworks we have been accustomed to seeing in T20 cricket at Headingley.

They were tied down in the first three overs as the score reached 12-1, with debutant off-spinner Matthew Carter removing Tom Kohler-Cadmore with the second ball of the match.

Willey and Lyth, who both hit big leg-side sixes, then got Yorkshire moving as they reached 85-1 after 11 before being stifled again in overs 13, 14 and 15 as Notts claimed Lyth and Willey for the addition of only 12 runs.

Williamson then hit three fours and a six off Samit Patel’s left-arm spin in the 16th over, which yielded 20 runs, but they stumbled again late on from 130-3, despite the New Zealand captain’s classy knock.

Willey forced Riki Wessels to chop on in the third over of the Notts reply, but the Outlaws still managed to get off to a healthy start at 39-1 after four on a ground with the boundaries pushed out as far as possible.

Hales was far from his destructive best, but he still managed to find the boundaries and found more than useful support in Jake Libby, who backed up last week’s maiden T20 fifty in the corresponding fixture at Trent Bridge with 30.

They shared 73 in 8.2 overs for the second wicket to advance from 25-1 before Lyth’s off-spinners had the latter stumped in the 12th over, making it 98-2.

Hales reached his first Blast fifty of 2018 off 36 balls shortly afterwards.

Lyth bowled four tidy overs, but he was Yorkshire’s only spin option. Notts picked three front-line spinners.

Hales was joined at the crease by wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Moores, who helped see the game home with 43 not out and render it Liam Plunkett’s last for Yorkshire given he has asked not to be considered for Championship cricket.

They shared an unbroken 71 stand for the third wicket.