Top-scorer Michael Burgess said Sussex were “gutted” to end their Vitality Blast season with another home defeat.

Sharks’ hopes of squeezing into the knockout stages ended with a disappointing five-wicket reverse against Gloucestershire at Hove.

Their 160 for nine never looked enough despite a sluggish pitch and Gloucestershire, who were already out of the reckoning for the quarter-finals, eased to victory with 19 balls to spare, Ben Charlesworth top-scoring with 34 as he became their first batter to pass 300 runs in this season’s competition.

It means Surrey, Hampshire, Essex and Kent will fight it out on Sunday to join Somerset in the knockout stages while Sussex were left to regret that they only won one of their seven games at the 1st Central County Ground.

A recent run of away wins was not enough to propel Sussex into the top four.

Burgess reached the second T20 fifty of his career and hit the last two balls for six as he finished on 64 from 51 deliveries.

He said: "We have been really competitive in the last six or seven games and went into this with a sniff of qualifying, so we're really gutted.

“Our 160 on that pitch could have been defended so we're disappointed because we'd have liked to have made a few teams sweat in their last games tomorrow.

"In the last few games, a lot of people have found the confidence to let go and free themselves up.

“Before we were putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to perform, me included.

“The last seven games have been amazing and I think it gives us a lot to build on going into next year's Blast, especially with the experience our younger guys will have got in this tournament."