ANDREW FLINTOFF bowled in a competitive match for the first time since May 9 and helped Lancashire to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup with a 23-run victory over Nottinghamshire.

The England all-rounder generated plenty of pace and extracted enough bounce from the Old Trafford pitch to have Australian opener Adam Voges caught behind by Gareth Cross off his sixth delivery last night.

Flintoff finished with one for 27 off four overs and later took a comfortable outfield catch off Simon Marshall as the Red Rose side made sure of finishing at least third in the North Division with 12 points from nine games played. Points totals in other groups mean that Lancashire’s tally is enough to secure a last-eight spot and victory over Durham at the Riverside tomorrow may clinch a home draw too.

“Andrew Flintoff can run into a gale, and to have him bowling meant that one end was going to be blocked up and we would frustrate them when we got wickets,” said Dominic Cork.

Yesterday’s win was also a triumph for the rest of Lancashire’s seven-man bowling attack who succeeded in defending what seemed a barely adequate total of 155. Cork varied his pace intelligently to earn figures of one for 22 and Simon Marshall again proved the value of slower balls in this form of the game by taking two for 20.

Lancashire skipper Stuart Law changed the bowling so frequently that the Nottinghamshire batsmen could never settle into a groove and only when Chris Cairns blasted sixes off Marshall and Kyle Hogg did the visitors look like coming to terms with a modest Twenty20 asking rate of just less than eight an over. But if astute captaincy, canny bowling and outstanding fielding completed Lancashire’s third successive Twenty20 victory, home supporters were also indebted to yet another fine innings from Lou Vincent who picked up where he had left off on Monday to blast the home side to 70 for 2 off only seven overs.

The New Zealander made light of the loss of both Mal Loye, bowled by Pattinson, and Stuart Law, caught by Adam Voges off the same bowler, and although he had to settle for 56 rather than the century he collected on Monday, Vincent was the only batsman on either side to score 50.

Francois du Plessis and Gareth Cross both made 19 and Flintoff, watched by England selector James Whittaker, stroked slow left-armer Rob Ferley for a gorgeous six over extra-cover before being caught at point off Mark Ealham for nine.