Ben Brown has admitted to a sense of deflation after Sussex were knocked out of Twenty20 cricket by the narrowest of margins.

Sharks hammered Essex by 55 runs at Hove in their final group game of the NatWest T20 Blast south group.

But they were edged out by a freak result at the Ageas Bowl, where Somerset beat the already qualified Hampshire by 98 runs.

As a result, Somerset pipped Sussex to the final qualifying place on nett run rate.

Somerset’s six wins included a success over Sussex at Taunton in a game Sharks felt should have been abandoned because of rain.

Sussex skipper Brown said: “It’s hugely frustrating and I think really deflating is the best way to describe it.

“We didn’t really know the run rate situation in the end. We knew it would be close and we got word from the dugout that it was no good.

“We did everything we could but, on reflection, we will have to look back over the tournament as a whole.”

Somerset’s win at Hampshire was a stunner for Sussex.

Brown said: “I don’t think you can plan for a team losing by almost 100 runs in Twenty20.

“That game wasn’t the one we were worried about initially. There were a lot of other things going on.”

Sussex finished with the second best run rate in the south group – by a long way.

But their figure 0.423 was just short of the one team they had to beat on that score, Somerset.

Sussex will look back at four points which got away and which would have given them not just qualification but top spot in the group.

They were the tie at home to Kent, a last-ball defeat at Middlesex and the Somerset match they felt should have been abandoned.

But at least they went out in style.

Chris Nash completed his sixth half century in this year’s Blast and provided the backbone of his side’s 172-4.

Nash scored 73 (55 balls, seven fours, two fours) and finished his innings with a runner after tweaking a hamstring setting off for a single.

He put on 84 with Luke Wright of 8.5 overs for the first wicket.

Lawrie Evans added late impetus with 47 not out before Sussex’s bowlers and fielders finished the job against an Essex side who knew they had to win quickly to have any chance of going through.

Sussex’s catching and groundwork were electric as they dismissed Essex for 117 in 15.5 overs.

Danny Briggs was the only one to miss a chance when he failed to judge a steepling opportunity offered by Ryan ten Doeschate.

But that was easily overlooked as the spinner took 2-12 off four overs.

Will Beer finished with 3-36 with Stiaan Van Zyl, Brown and substitute Phil Salt each bagging a pair of catches.

But, cruelly, it was not quite enough.