YORKSHIRE kept their Vitality Blast quarter-final hopes alive by breezing to a target of 163 against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

The Vikings were fired by second-wicket pair Adam Lyth and captain and star man David Willey as they won for the seventh time in 13 North Group games, by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare.

The result means tonight’s final group clash with Nottinghamshire at Emerald Headingley (6.30pm) is a winner-takes-all affair as both sides sit on 14 points, Yorkshire having jumped above Notts into fourth on net run-rate.

Lyth and Willey advanced the chase from 3-1 after four balls, sharing 150 in 13.2 overs and finishing with 66 off 41 balls and 79 off 44 respectively.

Earlier, Willey claimed 3-30 from four overs against his home county, including a triple wicket maiden, as Northants posted 162-8. Josh Cobb top-scored with 68 not out.

Yorkshire could have been better in the field after the hosts elected to bat, although they still restricted a struggling Northants side.

The Steelbacks, missing a number of key batsmen, sit bottom of the table having only won once.

Yorkshire starved key man Cobb of the strike. He arrived at the crease two balls into the fifth over and batted through, but he only faced 39 balls.

Still, he kept home hopes alive with five sixes and four fours, reaching his fifty off 32. He passed 50 for the third time in four matches.

Tim Bresnan and Liam Plunkett both dropped catches early on, the latter off his own bowling as Cobb got a leading edge on 30.

But Plunkett (2-25) impressed on his return from a hip injury, removing Alex Wakely and Crook.

Matthew Fisher also claimed two cheap wickets, both in the fifth over - his first - as he had openers Charlie Thurston caught at third-man and forced Ben Duckett to miscue to point off the shoulder of his bat.

Captain Willey then bowled a brilliant penultimate over, as he had Luke Procter and Brett Hutton caught behind and Graeme White caught at deep square-leg, those wickets coming in four balls as the score fell to 148-8.

Yorkshire lost Tom Kohler-Cadmore four balls into their chase as he skewed Hutton to point. But Willey and Lyth ensured that was only brief success for the beleaguered hosts.

They hit leg-side sixes at the end of the third over and start of the fourth before Willey twice slashed Ben Sanderson through backward point for four to take the score to 41-1 after four.

The pair took 52 off three overs from Hutton, Sanderson and Richard Gleeson.

Lyth reached his third fifty of this season’s Blast off 26 balls before Willey also reached his third off 34 balls before really cutting loose.

The England left-hander was particularly brutal over leg-side and down the ground, and he hit five sixes in a 12-ball period to all but end the game.

Lyth and Willey fell in successive balls with Yorkshire 10 short of victory before Gary Ballance hit the winning runs.