Yorkshire secured a home semi-final in the Metro Bank Cup after coasting to a 76-run victory over the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.

James Wharton hit a century as Yorkshire posted 301 for 9 and Dom Bess then took four for 43 as the Spitfires were dismissed for 225.

Wharton hit 118 from 106 balls, while Imam-ul-Haq was the next highest scorer with 70, while Ekansh Singh took three for 42 before making 71 during the Kent reply.

Jaydn Denly was the hosts’ top-scorer with 77 but they lost wickets too frequently to sustain a chase and were all out with 5.4 overs remaining.

Yorkshire chose to bat and put on 71 for the opening wicket before Corey Flintoff sent Adam Lyth’s off stump flying, bowling him for 28.

Mo Rizvi then bowled debutant Will Bennison for a fifth ball duck, but Wharton and Imam-ul-Haq put on 59 for the next wicket, Ekansh breaking the partnership when he had the latter lbw.

Finlay Bean made a useful 39 before he was run out by Ollie Curtiss and George Hill made just seven when Klaassen had him caught by Jaydn Denly.

Harry Duke hit Ekansh almost vertically and was caught by wicket-keeper Harry Finch for 3 and Ekansh struck again two overs later when he caught and bowled Bess for four.

Dan Moriarty went in similar fashion to Klaassen and Wharton finally fell in the final over when Fred Klaassen had him caught behind, leaving Cliff to take the visitors past 300.

The chase got off to a rough start when Ben Dawkins went for 1, chipping Ben Cliff to Lyth but Kent responded with a 97-run stand that only ended when Bess had Denly caught by Imam-ul-Haq.

Chris Benjamin was then the victim of a brilliant rope-juggle catch by the sub fielder Noah Kelly, after he drove Bess and Joe Denly went for just two, miscuing Dan Moriarty straight to Fin Bean at long off. Curtiss went next ball, lbw for a golden duck on only his second appearance for the Spitfires.

Ekansh also fell to Kelly when he skied Hill and Lyth got revenge on Flintoff when he bowled him for 13.

Bess came back and bowled Finch for a run-a-ball for 32, then got Klaassen two balls later playing on, leaving Mattie Firbank to seal win when Rizvi pulled him to Lyth, his team mates mobbing him in celebration.

Yorkshire’s James Wharton said: “It’s not been a monkey on the back, but getting to 80 and then getting out a few times this year has been quite frustrating. So to actually kick on and do it in a winning cause is quite nice. 

“But it is what it is. I’d rather be getting out on 80 than not helping contribute to wins, so it’s sort of one of those (things). But it was nice to finally do it.

“I obviously want to be scoring hundreds for Yorkshire every time I’m out or every time I get in, but it’s obviously not always the case. If I’m contributing in a winning cause, that’s all I really care about.

“This is what we set out to do (semi-final qualification). It’s something we’ve not had for a while, getting into these positions where we could kick on and get to a final. We’re really looking forward to it.”

Kent’s Adam Hollioake said: “The game was the story of the comp which was pretty much the same as it’s been with all the other games, apart from the Durham game where we were resoundingly beaten. The story of this game is we got ourselves into a winning position and unfortunately weren’t able to extend that sequence of partnerships and get ourselves home and that’s been a common theme throughout this comp.

“On the positive side we’ve gone with the youngsters in this comp and they’ve really given us a lot more than we could have hoped for. I know they’re good players and it’s not like I don’t rate them but we’re trying to secure the future of the county so to have four or five guys at times who are under-19s is great for the county.

“Obviously we’re disappointed with the results but sometimes you’ve just got to rebuild for the future. I’ve spoken to a lot of the spectators and bumped into a couple of people out for a meal the other night who said to me they were really happy the young guys were playing so they’ve done really well, but again, I was disappointed with the loss today.

“There hasn’t been a lot to cheer about outside out T20 campaign this year so seeing two 19-year-olds (Ekansh and Jaydn) going on with a partnership like that and looking like they were going to get us across the line was amazing and all of those 19-year-olds have done something special throughout this tournament, Ben Dawkins, Corey Flintoff, even Ollie Curtis today had an amazing run out from the boundary, Ekansh has been amazing throughout the whole comp, as has Jaydn, so they’re the thing I’m focusing on.

“I think if the same thing happens next year, five of these losses will potentially be wins so there’s positives today but ultimately we’re disappointed.

(Will they get a go in the county championship?) “Absolutely, we’ve got to look forward now and try to build for the future. Does that mean they’re going to start next year? No it doesn’t but let’s get some experience in these kids, let’s expose them first class and List A cricket and find out what they’re about and see what they’re made of, because they are the future of the club, whether it’s this year, next year or the year after.

“There was a decent crowd in for the last couple of games, so exposing them to that, the games are livestreamed on tv and ESPN and BBC Radio so they’re zoomed into people’s homes and there is pressure that you don’t get playing for the seconds or your club side so they’re getting a taste of that and hopefully that exposure helps them grow as players.”