If Yorkshire’s director of professional cricket Martyn Moxon is correct, then the White Rose are already in the last chance saloon when it comes to their hopes of winning this season’s Yorkshire Bank 40.

Commenting after the county’s defeat to Somerset earlier this month, he proclaimed that the Vikings hopes of progressing to the semi-finals of the competition will be over if they lose more than three group games.

They’re now one loss away from surpassing that figure after falling to a heavy defeat at Middlesex today.

The Vikings were beaten by six wickets and are now second bottom of their section, having lost three of their opening four games.

The county’s latest defeat was masterminded by Middlesex’s Dawid Malan, who struck a superb 96 at Radlett CC, which was hosting its maiden first-class game.

It proved to be the difference after Yorkshire had posted 236-8 after winning the toss.

Phil Jaques led the way with a season’s best score of 81 but, although Gary Ballance impressed with a brisk 40 and Bradford-born Adil Rashid ended on 46 not out, the Vikings never really got going on a decent batting wicket.

Toby Roland-Jones was the main reason for this with 4-44, including the wicket of Tim Bresnan for a duck on his return from England duty, while James Harris, who Yorkshire tried to sign in the summer from Glamorgan, finished with 3-54.

The Vikings’ final total still looked potentially a match-winning one at the half-way stage though, and when Iain Wardlaw clean bowled Paul Stirling with a yorker two balls into Middlesex’s reply, hopes were high.

However, Joe Denly then made a fluent 38 to calm the Panthers nerves and, although Eoin Morgan then fell for a golden duck on his return from the IPL when he tried to reverse-sweep Rashid, Adam Rossington joined Malan for the game-changing partnership.

The duo added 135 for the fourth wicket before Malan departed four runs short of what would have been his third century of 2013.

With ten overs remaining, Middlesex had moved on to 201-4 and Rossington led his side home with 26 balls to spare to close on 79 not out.