Cumbria and Norfolk booked their passage to the quarter-finals of the NV Play National Counties Trophy but Dorset’s hopes of retaining the title were ended by a 76 runs defeat by Buckinghamshire.

Cumbria’s 47 runs victory over Cambridgeshire at Exning meant they joined Cheshire, who qualified on Monday in the last eight.

Cumbria face Cheshire at Keswick next Sunday to decide who will top Group One and have a home tie in quarter-finals on June 7.

Norfolk, the 2024 Trophy winners, also made it three wins in a row by beating Lincolnshire 76 runs at Woodhall Spa and will finish top of Group Two if they can beat Bedfordshire at Sprowston next Sunday.

The winners of the Staffordshire v Lincolnshire match at Bignall End will join Lincolnshire in the quarter-finals.Seamer Sam Sharp was Cumbria’s match winner at Exning with his return of four for 39 helping dismiss Cambridgeshire for 136 in pursuit of a target of 184.

Cumbria were indebted to a fourth wicket partnership of 59 between Calum Rowe (55) and Matt Sempill (41) for getting them to 183 in 40.1 overs with Jack Loveday (three for 41) the best of Cambridgeshire’s attack.

But Cambridgeshire were dismissed in 38 overs with no batter managing to reach 30.Cumbria’s win ended Suffolk’s already slim hopes of reaching the knockout stages despite their seven wickets win over Shropshire at Sudbury.

Shropshire slumped from 76 for two to 93 for seven before they were rescued by an eighth wicket partnership of 89 between acting-captain Tom Fell and debutant Harris Ajaz.

Fell struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 71-ball 88 while Ajaz finished unbeaten on 52 and helped Shropshire to 233.Suffolk got home with more than six overs to spare with Darren Ironside (76 not out) and Ollie Burle (70) adding 137 for the third wicket.

Half centuries from Freddie Fairey – a Trophy-best 81 – Alfie Cooper (69) and Charlie Hood (51) helped Norfolk to 257 at Woodhall Spa before former Derbyshire and Kent off-spinner Hamidullah Qadri took three for 26 to restrict Lincolnshire to 181.

Pranav Pothula finished unbeaten on 53 but Lincolnshire were dismissed inside 38 overs and suffered their first defeat of the season.

All-rounder Ollie Walker shone with bat and ball to help Staffordshire to a 68 runs over Northumberland at Jesmond.

First Walker, a winter recruit from Herefordshire, plundered 95 from 77 balls and shared a county record fourth wicket partnership of 143 with his captain James Kettleborough (95 from 115 balls). Then he took four for 36 to snuff out Northumberland’s challenge and end their hopes of making the quarter-finals. Walker’s fourth wicket alliance with Kettleborough passed the 119 that David Banks and Nick Archer, now Staffordshire’s chairman, added for the fourth wicket also against Northumberland at Norton in 1991.

Durham batter Haydon Mustard (56) launched Northumberland’s pursuit of a target of 293 with an opening partnership of 76 but slow left-armer Tom Brett checked their progress with a miserly spell of three for 26 and Walker struck a decisive blow when he had the powerful John Oswell LBW for 44.

Dorset needed to beat Buckinghamshire in their final Group Four match at Tring to have any hope of making the knockout stages and they were in with a shout when Dylan Church (78) and Joe Eckland (41) added 95 for the second wicket in pursuit of a target of 265. But scoreboard pressure eventually told and from 150 for four, Dorset slipped to 188 all out and out of the competition.

Half-centuries from Archie Dodds (50) and Matt Pardoe (58) laid solid foundations for Buckinghamshire with useful cameos down the order from Josh Lincoln (39), George Harvey (29) and Bertie Foreman (21) helping them to 264 for eight despite another four wicket haul from slow left-armer Mo Abbas.

Former Sussex off-spinner Foreman then took three for 28 with Pardoe and his fellow slow-left-armer Pardoe sharing two more wickets to secure a third straight win which leaves Buckinghamshire well placed to progress.

Oxfordshire banked a second win in a low-scoring contest against Cornwall at St Just which started late due to rain but finished quickly.

Cornwall were shot out for 103 after they opted to bat first in a 42 overs-a-side contest with off-spinner George Tait taking four for 20.

Sussex left-hander Harrison Ward then pummelled 45 from 27 balls and dominated an opening partnership of 60 with Freddie Smith which gave Oxfordshire a flying start to their chase. After Ward departed, Smith remained to secure an eight wickets victory inside 18 overs and finished unbeaten on 40.

Jake Goodwin set up Wiltshire’s 117 runs victory over Hertfordshire at Welwyn Garden City with the county’s highest score in the competition.

Goodwin’s 137 not out from 135 balls, which included 13 fours and four sixes, surpassed Wes Durston’s 133 against Berkshire at Henley in 2009.He shared successive century partnerships with Jack Mynott (49) and skipper Ed Young (50) for the second and third wickets which took Wiltshire to a dominant 314 for four.

Ben Clifford (60) led Hertfordshire’s resistance but they were dismissed inside 38 overs for 197 and went quietly to a third straight defeat.

Rhys Lewis’s 127 helped Berkshire to a 126 runs over Herefordshire at Wargrave and set up a potential Group Three decider with Wiltshire at Warminster next Sunday. Lewis’s second Trophy century contained 11 fours and three sixes which, with a fifth wicket partnership of Ben Salter (83) took Berkshire to 315.

Herefordshire never got to grips with a tough chase and their innings consisted of a series of cameos led by George Rhodes’s 36.

Captain Andy Rishton led from the front for Berkshire with three for 35 with Charlie Dunnett (three for 13) mopping up the resistance to condemn Herefordshire to a third defeat in four matches.

NV Play National Counties Trophy

Group One

Exning: Cumbria 183 (Calum Rowe 55), Cambridgeshire 136 (Sam Sharp 4-39). Cumbria won by 47 runs.Sudbury: Shropshire 233 (Tom Fell 88, Harris Ajaz 52 not out), Suffolk 234-3 (Darren Ironside 76 not out, Ollie Burle 70). Suffolk won by seven wickets.

Group Two

Jesmond: Staffordshire 292-9 (James Kettleborough95, Ollie Walker 95), Northumberland 224 (Haydon Mustard 56, Ollie Walker 4-36). Staffordshire won by 68 runs.Woodhall Spa: Norfolk 257 (Freddie Fairey 81, Alfie Cooper 69, Charlie Hood 51), Lincolnshire 181 (Pranav Pothula 53, James Laud 45, Hamidullah Qadri 3-26). Norfolk won by 76 runs.

Group Three

Welwyn Garden City: Wiltshire 314-4 (Jake Goodwin 137 not out, Ed Young 50), Hertfordshire 197 (Ben Clifford 60). Wiltshire won by 117 runs.Wargrave: Berkshire 315 (Rhys Lewis 127, Ben Salter 83), Herefordshire 190. Berkshire won by 126 runs.

Group Four

Tring: Buckinghamshire 264-8 (Matt Pardoe 58, Archie Dodds 50, Mo Abbas 4-59), Dorset 188 (Dylan Church 78). Buckinghamshire won by 76 runs.St Just: Cornwall 103 (George Tait 4-20), Oxfordshire 107-2 (Harrison Ward 45). Oxfordshire won by eight wickets.