A YORKSHIRE side including five World T20 finalists down the years lost to Lancashire by 26 runs at Emirates Old Trafford to slip to their third suc-cessive NatWest Blast defeat.

Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, David Willey and Adil Rashid all played in the recent final for England in India, while Tim Bresnan won the competition in 2010.

This was a Vikings side packed with talent but they still managed to come out on the wrong side of the North Group fixture, failing to chase a 205 target in front of a near 18,000 sell-out crowd.

Yorkshire have now lost three from three this season to seriously undermine their chances of reaching the quarter-finals, although there are still 11 group fixtures remaining to salvage things.

Root top-scored with 92 not out off 51 balls in 178-7 as Yorkshire rarely threatened the huge target.

The visitors were undone by a blistering third-wicket partnership of 98 in 8.2 overs between Liam Livingstone and Karl Brown, who both reached the 50s in a total of 204-7.

Root hit eight fours and three sixes but he was given very little support from his team-mates as the Vikings lost wickets regularly.

Yorkshire managed to remove opener Martin Guptill early and restrict Jos Buttler to an 11-ball 23 on an excellent pitch after electing to bowl.

Guptill was brilliantly caught by a diving Alex Lees off the impressive Bresnan (3-24 off four overs) running back from mid-off inside the powerplay as Lancashire fell to 31-2.

But the Lightning posted 200-plus for the second year running in this fixture thanks to Livingstone and Brown, with the former reaching 50 off just 21 balls – his county's fastest-ever half-century.

Livingstone, described as a future star by Yorkshire four-day captain Andrew Gale on Twitter, finished with 55 off 23 balls and Brown 54 off 38.

Bresnan took two wickets and conceded only five runs in a superb last over of the innings to boost the Vikings, who then made a breezy start to their chase with 29 inside the first three overs.

But seamers George Edwards and Neil Wagner struck twice in two balls at the end of the third and start of the fourth without further addition.

Lees was caught at deep mid-wicket off Edwards and Willey caught at mid-off off New Zealander Wagner.

Root and Bairstow then steadied things as they shared 40 for the third wicket inside five overs.

But the latter batsman was caught behind off off-spinner Arron Lilley as the score slipped to 69-3 in the eighth, although Bairstow did not think he had hit it and initially thought he had been stumped.

From there, it was a long way home for the Vikings – even with Root still at the crease and at his inventive best.

Gary Ballance and Bresnan holed out to the spin of Stephen Parry and Lilley in the 11th and 12th overs with the score not yet beyond 100.

The target became 83 off the last five and 50 from the last two and a sixth-wicket stand of 76 inside eight overs between Root and Liam Plunkett came too late.

Kane Williamson is expected to arrive at Headingley next week but not in time for the Royal London Cup one-day home clash with Worcestershire on Tuesday.