SOMERSET won their way through to the quarter finals of the Vitality Blast on Thursday evening when they comfortably beat Sussex by six wickets with 14 balls to spare.

At the start of the evening, Somerset captain Lewis Gregory won the toss and asked Sussex to bat first.

After Craig Overton bowled a good first over, conceding only one run, openers Harrison Ward and Daniel Hughes flayed the next three overs for 30 and it looked as though Somerset would be chasing a big target.

However, the Somerset bowlers gradually reeled Sussex in, and they failed to capitalise on their start. When Ben Green claimed two wickets in one over, the visitors were 66 for four by the end of the ninth over.

Somerset continued to apply the pressure aided by good out fielding restricted Sussex to 158 for nine from their 20 overs. Green ended with four wickets for 17.

Chasing what should be a straightforward target George Thomas picked up where he left off in the Surrey game and by the end of the fourth over he had helped the Cidermen onto 34 of which he had scored 22 with five fours.

Next ball, however, Tom Banton was out caught for eight off Tymal Mills which brought Tom Kohler-Cadmore to the wicket.

Thomas brought up the 50 in the sixth over bowled by McAndrews and next ball plundered another with a lofted shot over long off that landed just short of the ropes.

Thomas moved onto 42 when he lofted Danny Lamb to long on where he was caught by James Coles for 42 off 30 balls with  seven fours, making Somerset 70 for two.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore looked to have played himself in but after moving onto 20 he was caught off Mills.

Tom Abell came in and soon after he hit Danny Lamb for six into the Trade Nation Stand before taking another two to see up the 100 and by the end of the 12th over Somerset needed 57 runs off 48 balls.

Sean Dickson hit three consecutive fours off McAndrew and another off the last and by the end of the 13th over the target had reduced to 39.

Dickson and Abell continued to plunder the Sussex bowling and with five overs to go just 19 runs were required for victory.

Both batters were on fire and with four overs left only 11 were needed to ensure a place in the quarter finals.

Dickson had moved onto 28 when he was run out by a superb direct hit by Clark making Somerset 149 for four.

In the end it was Abell who stroked McAndrew to the backward square leg boundary for four to see the hosts  to victory by six wickets with 14 balls remaining, the Somerset batter ending unbeaten on 47 off 34 balls with three fours and two sixes.