Inaugural Vitality Blast champions Surrey sealed their place at Finals Day with a 13-run win over Lancashire in a high-scoring thriller at Emirates Old Trafford.
The 2003 winners defended a target of 188 to inflict a first home T20 defeat on Lancashire in 22 games dating back to late 2020 as the hosts slipped from 124 for two in the 14th over of their chase to finish on 174 for six.
Surrey captain and England white-ball seamer Chris Jordan took two for 27 from four overs after his side had finished on 187 for five, with opener Laurie Evans hitting 70 off 41 balls and Jason Roy reaching 50 off 34.
Somerset lie in wait for Surrey in the semi-finals at Edgbaston a week on Saturday after a nail-biting five-wicket win against Nottinghamshire at Taunton.
After Nottinghamshire had posted 157 for six – Matthew Montgomery top-scored with 51 off 38 balls – Lewis Gregory (57 not out) and Ben Green (35 not out) put together an unbroken partnership of 96 to see their side home with three balls to spare.
Defending champions Hampshire will face Essex in the other semi-final after Nathan Ellis took four for six to help skittle Worcestershire for 100 in a five-wicket win at the Ageas Bowl.
Ellis’s career-best figures and two wickets each for Chris Wood and John Turner left Hampshire with a below-par target and they maintained their hopes of becoming the first team to win back-to-back Blast titles.
While Hampshire stayed on track for a third success in the competition, Worcestershire slipped to their sixth quarter-final defeat in eight appearances.
