Yorkshire Phoenix lived to fight another day when they beat Nottinghamshire Outlaws by eight wickets at Headingley Carnegie tonight in a Twenty20 Cup match reduced to five overs because of heavy showers.

It was their third victory in a row and it meant that they may still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals if they beat bottom club Derby-shire Phantoms at Headingley on Friday, and Leicestershire Foxes lose to Lancashire Lightning.

That would lift them into third place in the North Division table and they could go through if they have a superior run rate to one of the third-placed teams in the two other divisions.

Every time an attempt was made to start tonight it began to rain again, and eventually the contest had to be played over the minimum number of overs allowed.

Yorkshire put in their opponents and restricting them to 61 for five.

Craig White and Gerard Brophy launched an immediate assault on Nottinghamshire's bowling with White smacking Simon Francis' first two deliveries for four and Brophy hooking a boundary later in the over.

Pudsey St Lawrence's Gareth Clough then felt the full fury of White's assault as his first three balls were battered for two fours and a six, and the former England all-rounder then lifted David Hussey high over mid-wicket for six.

After lashing four fours and two sixes, White was caught on the boundary edge off only the 11th delivery he had faced, and with his next delivery Hussey had Anthony McGrath caught high at cover by Stephen Fleming.

Brophy and Jacques Rudolph helped themselves to ten off the fourth over from Mark Ealham, and when Rudolph hit Rob Ferley for four it brought Yorkshire victory with two balls remaining.

The Notts innings got off to a dreadful start as Will Jefferson holed out to Andrew Gale at long on in Jason Gillespie's first over, and then Tim Bresnan had Fleming caught behind to make it five for two.

Samit Patel smacked sixes off both Bresnan and David Wainwright before the left-arm spinner had him caught on the boundary edge by Gale, who judged the skier to perfection.

Although Hussey and Chris Read each took a six off McGrath, they were not as destructive as they would have liked, Hussey ending unbeaten on 26 from 12 balls with two fours and a six and Read 15 from four deliveries with two fours and a six.