MIDDLESEX beat Essex by six wickets with three overs to spare in the NatWest Twenty20 Blast match at Richmond tonight to put a dent in the visitors' hopes of reaching the knockout stages.

International bowlers Steven Finn and James Franklin wrought havoc as they returned figures of four for 28 and three for 13 respectively as the visitors were dismissed for 109 in 18 overs.

Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan launched the chase for victory, after the visitors had won the toss, with an opening stand of 47 before Ravi Bopara gave Essex a semblance of hope by removing Gubbins for 22 and Malan for 29 in the same over.

Graham Napier then accounted for John Simpson for 14 to leave the home side 62 for three before George Scott and Eoin Morgan fashioned a fourth wicket stand of 36 in five overs.

Debutant Scott became the third victim for Bopara, but only 12 more runs were needed at that stage and Morgan and Franklin completed the task with the minimum of fuss, with Morgan finishing on 21 not out.

Bopara picked up this three wickets at a cost of 12 runs from his four overs.

England man Finn bowled his four overs within the opening eight of the Essex innings and, when he finally took his sweater, the Eagles were already in trouble at 42 for five.

He removed Mark Pettini in his first over, then Tom Westley and Ravi Bopara in his third before signing-off with the scalp of Eagles skipper Ryan ten Doeschate.

Only a 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket between Liam Dawson, on-loan from Hampshire, and James Foster in 6.2 overs added any substance to the visitors' sorry score.

Dawid Malan broke that liaison when he had Dawson caught for 22 by Nick Gubbins at deep mid-on with the total on 93.

Seven runs later, spinner Ollie Rayner breached the defences of Foster, who top-scored with 33.

Franklin then returned to grab two wickets.

The New Zealand all-rounder had already made a significant impact for the home side when he had fellow Kiwi Jesse Ryder caught off a glove by Simpson.

He later added Graham Napier and Shaun Tait, who had his middle stump uprooted, to bring to a close an abject batting display and the Eagles' lowest T20 score of the season.

Middlesex's win ended a dismal sequence of seven defeats in succession in the competition after they had started the campaign promisingly with two victories in their opening three games.

Essex head coach Paul Grayson said: "It was a massive disappointment to lose the game, but it was a bad day at the office.

"If we want to qualify for the quarter-finals we'll need to win our last two games.

"This is Essex, we never do things the easy way."