Chris Benjamin (right) struck half a century on his Birmingham debut
Birmingham Bears, Hampshire Hawks and Sussex Sharks secured the quarter-finals with victories on the final day of the T20 Blast group stage.
The Bears and Hawks crossed to victories over Northamptonshire and Glamorgan while the Sharks stunned in the form of Kent.
Leicestershire’s Josh Inglis took a sensational century to finish Worcestershire in the top eight.
Somerset also dashed Gloucestershire’s hopes as their win guaranteed a home quarter-finals.
Surrey, who played their last group game on Friday, also narrowly missed.
Josh Inglis of Leicestershire made a staggering 118 out of 61 balls with 10 fours and eight sixes
Bears and hawks do their job early
Both Birmingham and Hampshire waited anxiously for early wins.
D’Arcy Short (69) scored the best hit for the Hawks as they comfortably chased Glamorgan’s 184-4 aggregate, despite Australian Marnus Labuschagne hitting 78 of 47 balls for the guests. Hampshire is now facing a trip to Notts Outlaws.
Birmingham debutant Chris Benjamin made 60 of 34 deliveries unbeaten when they hit 191-6 against Northamptonshire, with the Steelbacks held in response to 177-8.
The Bears started the day behind Worcestershire in the North Group but booked an appointment in Kent after the Rapids lost to Leicestershire.
Worcestershire gave the Foxes a competitive 170 to win at Grace Road, but the hosts chased the totals slightly down, with Inglis hitting a staggering 118 rather than 61 balls with 10 fours and eight sixes.
Hampshire, who won their last five games to give themselves a chance to advance, slipped into the top four of the Southern group thanks to Gloucestershire’s failure at Taunton.
Tom Lammonby was dropped out with 90 points in the final when Somerset scored 183-7. In response, Gloucestershire lost 23 runs at 160-6, and the hosts secured a home game of the last eight against Lancashire, one of which made it to the round of 16 Win over Yorkshire on Saturday.
Brydon Carse left the field with an ear injury after throwing just three supplies
Sussex through and Notts do 221
Sussex knew the win would be enough to push them through – and delivered a dominant performance against Kent.
The leaders of the southern group were capped at 130-7 in Canterbury, with Jofra Archer, Sussex and England’s pacemaker, bowling three overs in his first competitive game since May when he was recovering from an elbow injury.
The Sharks crossed to 134-6 in their innings and won by four wickets to start a meet in Yorkshire.
Northern group winner Nottinghamshire scored a huge hit over Durham after Ben Duckett’s 74 of 41 balls gave the hosts a 221-4 at Trent Bridge.
The Outlaws bowler Calvin Harrison won 4:36 as their opponents were all out for 143.
The game also saw England and Durham bowler Brydon Carse take seven tricks after get hit in the ear by a powerful low blow from Alex Hales.
There was also a rare win for Middlesex, displacing Essex by nine runs, with former English bowler Steven Finn winning 3:25.
The results from Sunday
Northern group:
Birmingham Bears (191-6) beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks (177-8) with 14 runs
Notts Outlaws (221-4) beat Durham (143) with 78 runs
Leicestershire Foxes (171-3) beat Worcestershire Rapids (169-6) by seven wickets
Group south:
Essex Eagles (160-9) lost to Middlesex (169-5) with nine runs
Hampshire Hawks (187-4) beat Glamorgan (184-4) by six wickets
Kent Spitfires (130-7) lost to Sussex (134-6) by four wickets
Somerset (183-7) beat Gloucestershire (160-6) by 23 runs
What’s next?
The T20 Blast quarter-finals will take place from August 24th to 27th with Finals Day on September 18th.
Domestic cricket attention is now turning to The Hundred, which kicks off on Wednesday, July 21, when the Oval Invincibles host the Manchester Originals live at the Women’s Hundred on BBC Two.
