May 24, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 11,1423

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LONDON, May 23: Nasser Hussain cracked an unbeaten 136 as Essex saw off Yorkshire at Chelmsford to reach the semifinals of the Benson and Hedges Cup Wednesday.

The England captain smashed 18 fours and one six in his 144-ball innings as the home side romped to a seven-wicket victory with five overs to spare.

Essex will meet Worcestershire in the semifinals after the New Road side ended Gloucestershire’s recent domination of the title with a convincing eight-wicket win in Bristol.

Results:

Quarterfinals:

At Bristol: Worcestershire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets. Gloucestershire 203-8 in 50 overs (M.W. Alleyne 52, K.J. Barnett 51); Worcestershire 204-2 in 41.4 overs (A.J. Bichel 94 not out, G.A. Hick 66).

At Chelmsford: Essex beat Yorkshire by seven wickets. Yorkshire 237-9 in 50 overs (D.S. Lehmann 59, C.E.W. Silverwood 56); Essex 239-3 in 45 overs (N. Hussain 136 not out).

At Grace Road: Lancashire beat Leicestershire by four wickets. Leicestershire 163-8 in 50 overs (M.G. Bevan 67); Lancashire 164-6 in 47.4 overs (D. Byas 91).

At Hove: Warwickshire beat Sussex by four wickets. Sussex 196-7 in 50 overs (T. Ambrose 87); Warwickshire 197-6 in 48.4 overs (I.D. Bell 85 not out).—Reuters