Match scores (Canterbury)
Essex win by 57 runs (D/L Method)
Essex inns: 307-6 (50/50 overs. Chopra 83, Cook 54, Bopara 49; Haggett 2-59)
Kent inns: 50-3 (11 overs. Bell-Drummond 25; Zaidi 2-10)
Match report
Essex landed their seventh win in eight games and marched through to the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-finals with a 57-run triumph over Kent on the Duckworth/Lewis method.
In pursuit of the visitors' 307 for six, Kent had slumped to 50 for three after 11 overs when the rain, which had already wiped out the day's three other South Group games, abruptly ended proceedings and inflicted a seventh defeat upon the hosts.
Kent handed teenager Zak Crawley a debut but the opener clipped one from Jamie Porter to Varun Chopra at deep square-leg on two.
Skipper Sam Northeast then smeared across the line to be bowled by Ashar Zaidi, who struck again in his next over by snaring Sean Dickson lbw on the back foot.
Alex Blake briefly lightened the gloom with three quick boundaries before the rain intensified to end proceedings just before 6.30pm.
Batting first after winning the toss, former England captain Alastair Cook swept to a comfortable run-a-ball fifty and, in the process, moved past the 500-run milestone in this season's competition.
Cook contributed 54 to an opening stand of 95 with Varun Chopra before he lent back to cut the fifth ball of the game from left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum, only to edge into the gloves of Adam Rouse.
Chopra, in his 99th List A appearance, posted a 25th half-century in the format and appeared destined for three figures until he chopped on when also aiming a late cut against Qayyum to go for 83.
Callum Haggett accounted for Tom Westley to a catch behind on 35 before Dan Lawrence, in the quest for late runs, perished with 32 to his name driving on the up against Ivan Thomas.
Zaidi holed out to long-on then Ravi Bopara, on 49, sliced to backward point to give Haggett and second scalp.
Essex will host either Somerset or Nottinghamshire in the semi-finals.
