A SPARKLING innings by Vikram Solanki helped delighted Worcestershire book a place in the quarter-finals of the Benson and Hedges Cup for the first time since 1995 with a five wicket win over Glamorgan at New Road yesterday.

Hero Solanki cracked 90 to enable the County to go into today's final

group match with Somerset at Taunton on the back of three successive wins.

Solanki set to work on the Glamorgan attack after Worcestershire had been

left a victory target of 192 and by the time his run-a-ball innings was over he had plundered 15 fours after featuring in a 112-run opening stand with Stephen Peters.

After collecting his first Gold Award for his highest score in the competition, he said: "I would have loved to have been there at the end and finished it off, but I'm pretty pleased with the way we played.

"We did well after a good win against Warwickshire at Edgbaston where we showed a little bit of character and the guys did their jobs again.

"We have put the Gloucestershire defeat behind us now to a certain extent, but that was a slightly freakish event really.

"I didn't go out their expecting to go off all guns blazing or anything like that. I just went and tried to bat and occupy the crease and things turned out pretty well for us.

"We are getting a little bit of rhythm but it's early days yet but we'd like to keep playing good cricket. The guys have worked hard and are a pretty confident side at the moment."

After being put in, Glamorgan, who have now lost their last five Benson matches against Worcestershire, were restricted to 191-8 with on-form Andy Bichel taking 3-24 and fellow paceman Matt Mason 3-49.

Glamorgan's leading scorer was Adrian Dale who made 42, including seven fours, and put on 58 in 19 overs for the fifth wicket with Mike Powell.

Bichel and Mason's efforts were backed up by some fine catches and sharp fielding to leave Worcestershire with a target which they were able to reach with a comfortable 10.2 overs to spare.

Their first 22 overs were occupied by the Solanki-Peters double act in which Solanki confidently recorded his second Benson half-century this season.

Newcomer Peters finally fell for 36 and despite Graeme Hick, David Leatherdale and Gareth Batty failing to reach any great heights the County were safely steered to their target by Ben Smith and Bichel.