WORCESTERSHIRE Rapids' hopes of reaching the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-finals were extinguished today after a flat display.

Visitors Somerset won the right to visit North Group winners Notts Outlaws in Sunday's last four encounter at Trent Bridge.

And it was a comfortable 147-run victory for Jason Kerr's side as Tom Banton's highest List A score of 112 laid the foundations for a quarter-final total of 337-8 from 50 overs.

The opener profited from being dropped twice at first slip by Callum Ferguson off paceman Pat Brown before he had reached 20 at Blackfinch New Road.

Tight bowling and sharp ground fielding denied Rapids a one-day cup semi-final for a third successive campaign as they were bowled out for 190 in 38 overs.

Azhar Ali wrapped up the second half of the innings and finished with 5-34 from seven overs but by then a considerable slice of damage had already been done to the County's hopes.

Somerset were put into bat on a fresh wicket by Rapids skipper Brett D’Oliveira.

New-ball pairing Pat Brown and Charlie Morris delivered probing initial spells with the initial 10-over powerplay restricted to just 38 runs.

Banton, whose brother Jacques is a member of the Worcestershire academy, survived two dropped chances when on four and 18 — the initial one a head-high attempt and the second a low effort.

Wayne Parnell made the initial breakthrough with 66 on the board in the 14th over as Azhar (29) was caught via the inside edge by wicketkeeper Ben Cox away to his left.

Banton was full of inventive strokes and ramped Ross Whiteley for six to bring up the century stand in 16 overs with Peter Trego.

A single down the ground off Daryl Mitchell took the 20-year-old to three figures from 95 balls with three sixes and 11 fours.

Brown struck in his first over back in the attack as Trego (37) went for a pull and bottom edged through to Cox.

On 112 Banton turned Parnell straight to Brown at deep square leg with the total on 203-3 in the 35th over.

Ed Barnard accounted for James Hildreth (38) and the England Lions player held onto two sharp chances at point and long-on to dismiss Tom Abell (20) and Lewis Gregory (8) off Parnell and Morris respectively.

George Bartlett (4) holed out to long-on off Brown who then held on to a sharp return chance offered by Roelof van der Merwe (13) but some late hitting by Craig Overton took Somerset to a formidable total.

Parnell’s 3-50 from 10 overs took his wicket tally in this year’s competition to 22.

Rapids had been reliant on Riki Wessels and Ferguson in scoring contrasting centuries when overhauling a target of 352 set by Derbyshire last Monday to reach the knockout stages.

But the duo both fell relatively cheaply on this occasion.

Wessels (16) drove Craig Overton to point and after Tom Fell (22) was lbw to Gregory Ferguson was undone by a fine piece of fielding from Abell.

Mitchell turned Gregory (2-35) on the offside and set off for a quick single but Ferguson (21) failed to beat Abell’s direct hit from point with the total on 68-3 in the 16th over.

D’Oliveira (10) was undone by a ball from van der Merwe that straightened and Cox (25) lobbed a gentle return catch to Azhar.

Mitchell (34) drilled Gregory straight into the hands of Craig Overton on the cover boundary and Azhar helped to polish off the innings as Barnard (3), Whiteley (33), Parnell (3) and Morris (0) succumbed in quick succession.