England opener Alastair Cook and big-hitter Graham Napier - plus a superb spell of bowling from Ryan ten Doeschate - inspired Essex to reach their first Friends Provident Trophy final for 11 years with a 87-run success over Yorkshire.

Cook fell just five runs short of the third one-day century of his career as Essex amassed 285 for eight in their 50 overs at Chelmsford.

The left-hander, playing only his second game in the competition this season, made 95 off 127 balls with 10 fours.

Some typically big-hitting in the latter stages from Napier, with 61 off 34 balls, set a total that proved out of reach for the Tykes as Essex set up a final against Kent on August 16.

Ten Doeschate wrecked the middle part of the Yorkshire innings with a three-wicket salvo to shatter Darren Gough's dreams of a Lord's swansong as the visitors were dismissed for 198 in the 43rd over.

In all, they lost their last nine wickets for 58 runs in 13 overs.

Yorkshire, needing to score at 5.72 runs per over, had been given a confident start by openers Andrew Gale and Adam Lyth and the 50 arrived in the 11th over.

But David Masters made the breakthrough with 56 on the board when Lyth (21) attempted a pull through mid-wicket and was adjudged lbw.

New batsman Anthony McGrath then survived a confident shout for caught behind off the same bowler before he had scored.

McGrath upped the tempo with a six over long on and a four through mid-wicket in one James Middlebrook over. And Gale went to an impressive half-century off 54 balls with nine fours out of 88.

But the Essex bowlers began to slow down the scoring in mid-innings and Gale's knock ended at 64 when he was needlessly run out.

He turned ten Doeschate on the on side but hesitated after setting off for a single and the bowler was able to break the wicket with the left-hander well out of his ground.

Much of Yorkshire's hopes now rested with McGrath and his 50 came up off 84 deliveries. But the game effectively ended as a contest when four wickets fell in the space of three runs.

McGrath (53) drove spinner Danish Kaneria straight to cover before ten Doeschate took centre stage with his one-two-three blast.

The Holland international had Gerard Brophy trapped lbw and Adil Rashid caught behind without troubling the scorers before bowling Jacques Rudolph (five) off the inside edge.

Ravi Bopara dismissed Tim Bresnan and Rana Naved cheaply and last man out was Gough trapped lbw by Kaneria.

Essex skipper Mark Pettini decided to bat after winning the toss in blustery conditions and Cook and Jason Gallian put on 61 in 14 overs before the latter was run out for 28 by Tim Bresnan's direct throw from mid-on.

Pettini lofted Naved over long on for the first six of the game but the same bowler had his revenge after the batsman failed to get full contact on a pull shot and Adam Lyth clung onto a low catch at deep square leg.

Cook went to his 50 off 85 balls with six fours and he then took a liking to the bowling of Rashid with a series of legside boundaries but then became the second Essex batsman to be run out.

He hit Gough to point and Richard Pyrah's dive deflected the ball to Bresnan coming in from third man. His direct hit ran out Cook attempting in vain to complete a second run.

Cook had added 98 in 19 overs with Bopara (37), who quickly followed his England team-mate back to the pavilion. He had not been at his most fluent before edging a Naved delivery to wicket-keeper Brophy.

It was Napier, who had scored 152 off 58 balls in the Twenty20 clash with Sussex on the same ground, who gave the innings late impetus.

He saw James Foster (10) caught behind and ten Doeschate managed just a single before holing out to McGrath on the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Napier was undeterred and raced to his half-century off only 27 balls, with five sixes and two fours.

He cleared the boundary once more and had had smashed 61 from 34 deliveries when he eventually perished at wide long on in the final over from Bresnan, who also accounted for Grant Flower (21).

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