Hampshire dominate Durham to make One-Day Cup semis

Hampshire skipper Georgia Adams' three wickets paved the way for her side's success at Durham

Hampshire became the first side to book their place in the semi-finals of the Women's One-Day Cup with a thumping nine-wicket win over Durham.

Georgia Adams' side were aided by a ferocious assault from openers Rhianna Southby and Maia Bouchier who made light work of the hosts' total of 224-9.

They were well ahead of the run rate when the heavens opened at Chester-le-Street, with the visiting batters returning to polish off the revised total with the minimum of fuss.

Second-placed Lancashire kept up the pressure at the top, Seren Smale seeing them home with an unbeaten 67 in a four-wicket win over Surrey.

The Blaze look favourites to join the top two in the last four, thanks to a dominant victory over Somerset in which Sarah Bryce (68) top scored.

The game between the two teams at the bottom went in Essex's favour as they triumphed by 27 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method over Warwickshire.

• Women's One-Day Cup table

• Women's One-Day Cup fixtures and results

An opening partnership of 152 paved the way for Hampshire to cruise into the last four.

Southby (58) played second fiddle to Bouchier who played the leading role with an unbeaten 93. The duo piled on 144 runs in just 19 overs before the heavens opened.

When they returned, Southby fell but a revised target of 171 in 37 overs was chalked off comfortably.

Earlier, Durham had been indebted to Hollie Armitage. The home skipper came to the wicket when Mia Rogers was run-out by Naomi Dattari with the score at 15-1.

And she was still there in the final over, having played a captain's innings with a 105-ball knock of 88.

Hampshire skipper Adams led the way with the ball, taking 3-41 from her 10 overs.

Smale was the pick of the bunch as Lancashire's top-order fired against Surrey, chasing down 225.

The Welsh batter capitalised on a solid platform provided by openers Emma Lamb (59) and Gaby Lewis (39) who put on a 74-run partnership for the first wicket.

The 20-year-old saw her side home with an unbeaten 67, holding her nerve while late wickets fell around her.

At one stage, it had looked set to be a far easier afternoon for Lancashire but Surrey staged a late revival.

At 60-5 and then 128-7, Bryony Smith's side were struggling before Kalea Moore scored 67 in 78 balls, with good support from Phoebe Franklin (25).

Alexa Stonehouse then took up the fight with a rapid 48 before Lancashire's main batters ultimately wrestled back control to triumph on 227-6.

Sarah Bryce (left) made an important contribution as The Blaze made light work of Somerset

The Blaze fired their way to a 44-run DLS victory over Somerset in a game that was also affected by the weather.

In a game reduced to 33 overs per side, Kirstie Gordon's side took an early grip and refused to let go.

Georgie Boyce and Sarah Bryce got them off to a flier, putting on 76 runs for the opening wicket inside the first 10 overs.

Kathryn Bryce (63no) maintained the momentum and Orla Pendergast's 46 off 31 balls pushed The Blaze up to a daunting total of 252.

A stunning opening spell from Cassidy McCarthy, who took 3-12 from her four overs, broke the back of Somerset's reply.

Amanda-Jade Wellington offered some resistance with her 53 runs coming from just 28 balls but Somerset were all out for 169.

In the battle to avoid the wooden spoon, Essex managed to regroup late in their innings following a break for rain to put the pressure on Warwickshire.

Ariana Dowse, (36) and Jodi Grewcock (39) laid an early platform and 47 from Jo Gardner lifted them towards a respectable total.

However, with fewer than five overs left, Amara Carr joined Sophie Munro with 180 on the board. They added a further 55 runs from 29 balls, posting a big total of 235-7 for the hosts to chase.

Meg Austin and Bethan Ellis started brightly for the hosts and Amu Surenkumar (56) took up the charge when both the openers had been dismissed.

However, when the all-rounder was dismissed, Georgia Davis' side were unable to keep up and Essex ran out winners by 27 runs on DLS.