Warwickshire overcome Bailey ton

Warwickshire 268 for 6 beat Scotland 267 for 4
Scorecard

Warwickshire stayed on top of their Clydesdale Bank 40 group after trumping an 82-ball century by Scotland's overseas player, George Bailey, at Edgbaston. Bailey and Richie Berrington shared in a record-breaking partnership as the Scots made 267 for 4 but an explosive 81 from 69 balls by Neil Carter put the Bears on the way to a four-wicket win with three overs to spare.

The county side had to overcome a teasing spell of three for 39 by left-arm spinner Ross Lyons before setting up a winner-takes-all clash with Nottinghamshire for a semi-final place on Saturday. Lyons broke a stand of 101 by Carter and Keith Barker (40), but despite slipping back to 156 for five, Warwickshire still had the resources to avoid an upset.

Darren Maddy (74) and Rikki Clarke (49 not out) - both England players in the past - imposed their strength and experience by putting on 111 in 13 overs. Maddy was just annoyed with himself at getting out after bringing the scores level with his ninth boundary.

It was tough on Scotland to be in the losing corner. Bailey and Berrington, already the only batsmen in this team to have made fifties in this season's competition, passed numerous milestones in hammering 109 runs from the last eight overs.

Their partnership of 198 in 25.2 overs is Scotland's highest in competitive meetings with English counties, surpassing 167 by Rahul Dravid and the South African, Jon Kent, against Sussex at Hove in 2003.

Making the most of a run-out chance on 73, Barker cracked nine fours and five sixes as he put the seal on a hectic year by making 123 from 90 balls, a new career-best score in List A cricket.

The Tasmania captain flew home in the middle of the season to score a century when leading Australia A in a mini-series against Sri Lanka. For Berrington this has been a breakthrough season. The 23-year-old Greenock batsman has attracted interest from a number of counties since starting the with successive half-centuries against Leicestershire, Kent and Nottinghamshire.

In the middle of the summer he reached his first international hundred against India A in Glasgow and now he has made his highest score against a county side. When he was out for 82, hoisting the last ball of the innings to Clarke at long-off, he had hit seven fours and two sixes from 72 deliveries.

The wicket was scant consolation for Warwickshire as a team, but for Barker, the bowler, it was a personal landmark as he finished with four for 33, his best figures in List A competitions.

In his first spell, the left-arm seamer ended a promising start by Fraser Watts (26) and Ollie Hairs, a 19-year-old left hander who confidently made 24 in his first CB 40 appearance.