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James Wharton hit a maiden 50-over century for Yorkshire as the Tykes and Worcestershire progressed directly to the semi-finals of the One-Day Cup.
Wharton scored 118 off 106 balls as Yorkshire beat Kent by 76 runs to retain top spot in Group B, while Worcestershire nipped in to capture first place in Group A as they beat Surrey by six wickets.
Archie Vaughan scored 109 not out – his first three-figure innings for Somerset, who made sure of progressing to the quarter-finals with an eight-wicket win over Northants Steelbacks.
Hampshire and Middlesex also reached the quarter-final stage, the former beating Gloucestershire – who were already through to the knockout stage – by five wickets despite centuries from James Bracey and Ben Charlesworth.
Middlesex beat Lancashire by one wicket with one ball to spare in Tuesday’s most exciting finish, while 2024 winners Glamorgan finally achieved a first victory this campaign as Asa Tribe’s unbeaten 131 led them home against Leicestershire.
Quarter-finals (Thursday, 28 August):
Somerset v Gloucestershire
Hampshire v Middlesex
Semi-finals (Sunday, 31 August):
Worcestershire v tbc
Yorkshire v tbc
Rapids wrap up first place in Group A
Worcestershire notched a comfortable sixth win of the group stage despite the return of England’s Gus Atkinson for Surrey at New Road, and Gloucestershire’s subsequent loss sent them directly through to the last four.
Atkinson, whose previous game was in The Hundred three days earlier, top scored with 60 off 48 balls, with three sixes and six fours, and put on 76 with Nikhil Gorantla (40 not out) as they totalled 266-6 from a rain-reduced 49 overs.
Atkinson could not make a similar impact with the ball, though, and ended wicketless as Kashif Ali (80), Dan Lategan (54) and Jake Libby (53 not out) guided the Rapids to 269-4 in the 40th over.
Getty ImagesCameron Bancroft was out first ball for Gloucestershire, and there was an unusual dismissal for Ollie Price (36) who was bowled over his shoulder by an Andrew Neal full toss which was not a no-ball because he had got down so low at the crease.
Bracey, though, made 104 off just 84 balls and his score was matched by Charlesworth, who hit four sixes and eight fours, as they put on 118 in a score of 313-7 by the home side.
With Nick Gubbins setting the pace as the highest scorer in the competition, Hampshire were still in the hunt and he went past 650 runs in making 76 off 60 balls before being caught behind as he tried a reverse paddle sweep.
Gubbins put on 112 in 11 and a bit overs with Ali Orr (52), but it was Fletcha Middleton (92 off 95 balls) and Toby Albert (52) who carried them most of the way to their target before departing in the space of three overs and they eventually reached 315-5 from 47.4 overs to move above their opponents into second place.
It was a high-scoring game at Derby, with three batters making hundreds as Essex defeated the Falcons by 44 runs, with Martin Andersson unable to bat for the home side.
Captain Tom Westley put on 127 with Charlie Allison (64) and made 118 off 110 balls before being caught at mid-wicket off Rory Haydon, but Luc Benkenstein hammered a 38-ball 50 and his 75, including five sixes, propelled the total to 366-6.
Derbyshire lost Caleb Jewell early but Matthew Montgomery (108 off 91 balls) and Harry Came (139) shared 225 for the second wicket before the former was bowled by Simon Harmer (2-45).
Came was stumped off Matt Critchley and the innings gradually subsided and Derbyshire were all out for 322 in the 48th over.
In Cardiff, holders Glamorgan were eager to avoid being the only team not to win a group game and youngsters Tom Norton and Romano Franco each took three wickets as Leicestershire were all out for 274, Lewis Hill top scoring with 81.
Tribe, however, gave another demonstration of his quality, reaching 100 off 109 balls with a square cut for four off Roman Walker as he and Will Smale (83 not out off 89) powered them to 278-3 to win by seven wickets.
Tykes make it seven wins out of eight
Rex FeaturesThe final Group B games began with Yorkshire four points clear of Somerset, Warwickshire and Middlesex, but there was a notable moment for Kent’s Corey Flintoff in the early stages at Canterbury against the leaders.
The 19-year-old son of former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff flattened Adam Lyth’s off stump, his first wicket in senior cricket, but the prolific Imam-ul-Haq made 70 and Wharton’s 118, including 13 fours, saw Yorkshire to 301-9.
Jaydn Denly (79 off 81 balls) and Ekansh Singh (71 off 72) gave Kent early impetus, adding 97 in tandem, but they could not sustain it as Tykes skipper Dom Bess claimed 4-43 and they were all out for 225.
‘Day I’ll remember for a long time’ – Vaughan
At Taunton, 2019 winners Somerset were up against a Northants team that had won just one of their previous seven games and the form book proved right as the Steelbacks were bowled out for 238 – despite 69 by Tim Robinson – as paceman Kasey Aldridge claimed 4-42 in a game reduced to 47 overs each.
Facing a modest target, Vaughan and Tom Lammonby shared 168 – a first wicket record stand for Somerset against Northants, beating the 155 by Marcus Trescothick and Jamie Cox in 2001.
Lammonby, on 83, fell victim to a brilliant diving caught and bowled by Stuart van der Merwe but Vaughan reached his hundred off 110 deliveries and hit the winning runs as they reached a DLS revised target of 240-2 with 26 balls to spare.
“It’s a day I’ll remember for a long time,” Vaughan said.
“Opening in this competition is very different from facing the new Duke balls in red-ball cricket in April. The competition came at a good time for me and I have really enjoyed it.
“It has been nice to play some strong shots and bat for a long period of time. Hopefully, I can maintain form and take it into the end of the red-ball season.
“I love batting with Tom Lammonby. We get on really well off the field and it was great for us to create such a dent in their score.”
At Old Trafford, Lancashire mustered 291-8 against Middlesex, anchored by 61 from Marcus Harris and a very handy 48 not out off 20 balls by tailender Jack Blatherwick.
Josh de Caires made exactly 50 in reply but Middlesex were in trouble on 127-6 as Harry Singh took 4-27 before being revived by a stand of 126 between Nathan Fernandes and Seb Morgan (61).
Fernandes was caught at the start of the final over with eight needed, but Noah Cornwell lobbed the winning run over mid-on with one ball to spare.
Warwickshire slipped out of the top three as they lost by 21 runs to Sussex Sharks via the DLS method at Edgbaston.
Tom Clark made 82 off 77 balls in the visitors’ 277-9 but although Ed Barnard followed Sunday’s century by matching Clark’s score, and Alex Davies made 74, superb bowling by spinner Archie Lenham, who took 5-48, saw them all out for 258.
