LIAM Plunkett has urged his Yorkshire team-mates to maintain their newfound fearless approach to Twenty20 cricket if they are to taste success in this summer's NatWest Blast.

The England fast bowler says their recent form has forged an air of confidence within the Vikings squad, especially the trio of final-over wins over Lancashire, Derbyshire and Birmingham.

Plunkett was key to Wednesday's 49-run Headingley victory over Durham, his former county, with a superb 1-13 from four overs.

He also took a superb running and diving catch at long-on in the defence of 223-6, the county's highest-ever T20 total.

And although Plunkett held the victory in the highest regard, he believes winning the close games are arguably more important.

The Yorkshire players are now eyeing a place in the quarter-finals, despite languishing at the foot of the North Group table for so long.

They only won one of their first six matches but now, heading into tonight's penultimate group game against leaders Northamptonshire at Headingley (7.00), they have won five from 12 overall.

The Vikings sit fifth in the table, level on points with fourth-placed Durham, who have a better net run-rate.

Still, if Yorkshire win both of their remaining two games – the last one is also against Northants next Friday – it would be a surprise if they did not finish in the top four and qualify for the knockout stages for the first time since 2012.

Plunkett said: "With the white ball, before the Surrey game in the Championship last week, we won a few close ones – and sometimes, to win games in the last over, they serve you better.

"You can really beat a team, like we did with Durham, but winning the nippers build confidence.

"We know we were off the pace at the start of the competition. It put us at the bottom and made every game a final.

"Durham was the best performance of the season. The guys at the top got us off to a flyer. Scoring 77 was our best power play of the season, it might even have been our best ever.

"We work hard in the field and that showed again. We also felt good with the ball. We are playing without fear, which is great.

"For me, if I'm bowling and the ball gets hit towards the boundary and someone misfields it attacking it, fair enough, you're trying. That's the way we want Yorkshire to play.

"If we go out and start bombing it but we're 60 for four – or even six – as long as everyone backs each other, it's fine.

"That's the way forward. The more you do that, the more confidence you get and the more games you win."

Northants have already qualified with seven wins from 12 and they also host Yorkshire in the final group game at Wantage Road next Friday.

"If we win those two games, we'll have won a big chunk at the back end and will go forward with confidence," said Plunkett.

"We'll be a tough team to play in the quarter-finals – but there's still work to be done."

Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie has named an unchanged 14-man squad for the final T20 match of the season to be played at Headingley.

Yorkshire: from Lees (c), Bresnan, Carver, Coad, Head, Hodd (w), Leaning, Lyth, Patterson, Plunkett, Rafiq, Rhodes, Waite, Willey.