Jonny Bairstow scored a career best 68 not out to fire Yorkshire past Sussex by 36 runs and into tonight’s final of the Friends Life t20 competition at Cardiff (6.45pm).

The White Rose comfortably defended their imposing total of 172-6 on the back of another impressive display with the ball and in the field to also book their place at October’s Champions League tournament in South Africa.

England star Bairstow smashed two fours and three towering sixes in a 45-ball innings that helped Yorkshire recover from strife at 36-3 in the sixth over after winning the toss.

Andrew Gale, Phil Jaques and Joe Root all fell to New Zealand medium pacer Scott Styris, the latter two via some failed innovation, but Bairstow and South African David Miller fashioned an exhilarating recovery.

With an immediate no risks policy, Miller and Bairstow picked off the ones and twos and put away the occasional bad ball before exploding in the latter stages of fourth-wicket stand of 82 in exactly ten overs.

Tim Bresnan and Rich Pyrah then both claimed a couple of wickets as Sussex, whose only performer was opener Chris Nash with 80 not out, stumbled to 136-8 from their 20 overs.

Miller hit two straight sixes off Chris Liddle and Will Beer, the first into the nearby River Taff, before falling for 47 off 35 as he tried to repeat the dose.

Gary Ballance and Bresnan then fell to Liddle in the 19th over, leaving the score at 153-6 with eight balls left. But Pyrah and Bairstow added another 19 runs.

Bairstow hit his sixes over square-leg off Styris, over fine-leg off Liddle and over mid-wicket off the spin off Nash.

Yorkshire, having reached 61-3 after ten overs, scored an impressive 111 off the last ten.

From the moment Ryan Sidebottom forced Luke Wright to chop on with the last ball of the second over as Sussex replied, Yorkshire bossed the contest.

Bresnan got rid of Matt Prior and Pyrah, who got the nod ahead of Adil Rashid, removed Murray Goodwin, with both Sussex batsmen caught by Ballance at mid-on and long-on. And when Pyrah bowled Joe Gatting, Sussex were on the ropes at 62-4 in the 11th over.

The wicket of Styris, a centurion in Sussex’s quarter-final win over Gloucestershire, fell to Azeem Rafiq as Ballance completed his third catch on the long-on fence, leaving the score at 93-6 in the 15th over and the game virtually over.

Bresnan also got rid of Matt Machan to finish with 2-22, while Pyrah finished with 2-30 from his four overs. There were also two run outs.