MAHELA Jayawardene’s unbeaten ton saw Somerset storm into the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-finals with a crushing nine-wicket win over Worcestershire at the Cooper Associates County Ground this afternoon.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, the visitors looked well placed at 155-3, having been 42-3 at one stage.

But once Moeen Ali went for 81, followed by skipper Daryl Mitchell (64), Worcestershire collapsed to 210 all out.

Openers Jayawardene (117 not out) and captain Jim Allenby (81) then put on 188 as Somerset raced to 214-1.

Allenby's side now face an away tie at either Warwickshire and Essex in the last four.

Soon after hitting the winning runs to see Somerset to victory, Jayawardene said: “This is a really big moment for me because, when I came to the county, it was all about winning matches and taking them all the way.

“It was a bit disappointing in the T20 campaign when we had a disappointing second half of the tournament so, when the county asked me to play in the 50-over competition, I was quite pleased and had the time to do that.

“They are a great bunch of guys so it’s great to be able to contribute to a quarter-final win and to be a part of that.”

Talking about the reception he was given when he reached his century Jayawardene said: “The fans here have been fantastic and they are 100 per cent behind the club win or lose.

“There is a great culture here so it nice to keep on doing well and contributing to winning matches.

“The fans appreciate their cricket and the way that Moeen Ali batted – they enjoyed. So it great to be a part of that is fantastic.”

The former Sri Lanka captain’s partnership Allenby crushed any hopes visitors had of defending their total.

“Jim took the pressure off me when I first batted for the first five or six overs,” added Jayawardene.

“He looked like he was batting on a different wicket and kept the boundaries.

“Once I found my rhythm it was much easier and we complimented each other out there in the middle.

“We took out different bowlers and rotated the strike well and when you are facing a small total you need a good start which we got.”