Nottinghamshire 261 for 4 (McCann 91, Hameed 51) beat Northamptonshire 259 for 8 (Bartlett 55, Procter 53, Hayes 2-51) by six wickets
The result takes the Outlaws to 16 points with two matches left but leaves the Steelbacks, for whom George Bartlett made 55, Luke Procter 53 and Nathan McSweeney 49, on a meagre return of eight from six matches.
After the visitors opted to bat first, Procter reeled off a string of early boundaries before Gus Miller nicked behind. Sam King, making his Steelbacks debut against his former county, off-drove James Hayes handsomely for four but was soon leg before to James.
McSweeney took four boundaries in an over as Hayes struggled with his line and Procter hammered Farhan Ahmed for six towards the pavilion at the densely tree-lined ground. But the offspinner had revenge as the veteran opener was leg-before attempting a reverse sweep.
He and McSweeney added 74, giving Northants a platform at 127 for 3 from 25 overs. But their progress was checked when McSweeney lost his middle stump to Ben Martindale’s medium pace and Stuart van der Merwe, swinging ambitiously at McCann’s offspin, surrendered an easy stumping.
But Bartlett, who reached fifty from 49 balls when he cleared the leg-side boundary off James, added another 70 in a dozen overs with Rob Keogh (33) before both picked out McCann at long-off. Martindale held a fine boundary catch to remove Lewis McManus as Hayes and Farhan Ahmed finished with two wickets each.
Needing just over five an over, the Outlaws raced to 62 for 2 from 10. A confident Martindale struck three boundaries in a row off Raphy Weatherall but was caught behind reaching for one from Liam Guthrie, the left-arm quick, who bowled Tayyab Tahir and had Hameed dropped at slip on nought.
McCann, already imposing himself, cut and drove profitably, going to fifty in as many balls. Northamptonshire looked to their spinners to get a grip but the left-hander reverse-swept Yuzvendra Chahal for six and took four off Keogh with the same shot. At 143 for 2 from 25, the job was more than half done.
Hameed made the Steelbacks pay heavily for the drop, reaching 50 from 70 balls but had added only a single before spooning Chahal to midwicket, the third wicket having put on 101.
McCann passed his previous best of 70 in List A cricket and moved into the 90s with his 11th four but could make no further progress, undone leg before attempting another reverse as Chahal grabbed his second. Yet the fifth-wicket pair of James and Kyle Verreynne were on the front foot throughout in adding 69 in 69 balls, James hitting the winning boundary.
