Taylor frustrated as 'tentative' Steelbacks slide to damaging Lightning loss

The defeat leaves the Steelbacks' hopes of qualifying for the last eight hanging by a thread, as they remain second bottom in the North Group.

They are now four points off fourth-placed Lightning, and six points adrift of the top three, with the table now headed by Birmingham Bears with Yorkshire Vikings second.

The third-placed team, Notts Outlaws, are the visitors to the County Ground on Sunday (start 2.30pm).

On Friday, the visitors recovered from being reduced to 25 for three in the fifth over to make a more than testing 204 for seven, with Steven Croft smashing 101 from 52 balls an Daryl Mitchell 48.

The pair put on 146 in a little over 12 overs, with some loose bowling, a smattering of dropped catches and some poor ground fielding helping them on their way.

Taylor admits that partnership 'sapped the energy' out of the Steelbacks, who then endured another torrid night with the bat.

They lost three wickets in the third over to slide from 23 without loss to to 32 for three in the space of five balls, before collapsing to 91 for seven.

A late flourish from Taylor (40no) and AJ Tye (36) gave the score a hint of respectability, but the home side were never in the hunt.

"Lancashire have a superstar team and I thought we bowled and fielded really well in the powerplay, and to get them three down," said Taylor.

"But we again gave them 20 too many in the field, with a couple of half chances going down, and I thought we were tentative in the field.

"That put a stamp on the rest of the game.

"With the bat we then got off to a reasonable start, but to then lost three in an over from Luke Wood, that kills you when you are chasing 10 an over.

"We never recovered, and me and AJ at the end was too late.

"As I said, I felt we were good in the powerplay, but then as soon as that field spreads the energy got sapped out of us, and they got a partnership together.

"We couldn't stop that ball rolling, and it was not our night."

"If we had walked off needing 180 I would have snapped your hand off on what is a fantastic ground for scoring runs, with a small boundary.

"I thought Crofty played brilliantly, he was struggling with a calf injury and then played from the crease and struck the ball cleanly, and that killed us."