Yorkshire Carnegie’s chances of securing a place in the Friends Provident Twenty20 quarter-finals have taken a hit, after they lost by 14 runs to the Warwickshire Bears. It means they are now three points off the final qualification place with only two group matches remaining.

The defeat to the Bears came in the final over at Edgbaston, after a game which also saw a thirty minute rain delay.

After winning the toss and electing to field it had looked good for the Tykes at first, after a disciplined all-round bowling display restricted the hosts’ to 145 for eight.

The returning David Wainwright and Steven Patterson were the pick of the bowlers, with three wickets each, but there was also success for Adil Rashid and Clint McKay in front of a sizeable crowd in Birmingham.

In fact at one stage the hosts were struggling on 93 for seven, in the 16th over, but some late heroics from Rikki Clarke, who made 39, and Chris Woakes, who made 27, at least meant Warwickshire posted something competitive.

Yorkshire’s reply started in the worst possible manner – when captain Andrew Gale was caught at short-extra cover off Neil Carter for only one in just the second over.

However, after the rain delay, Adam Lyth and Herschelle Gibbs counter attacked well to propel the Tykes to 41 for one in the fifth over, before Gibbs was clean bowled by Keith Barker to leave Yorkshire two down.

That wicket seemed to change the momentum of the game and when Lyth went for 31, hitting his own wicket off Steffan Piolet, in the eighth over and then Jonathan Bairstow was stumped in the tenth, the Tykes were suddenly 75 for 4.

From that point they never really recovered – although a spirited eighth wicket stand of 32 between McKay and Rich Pyrah did at least take the game to the final over.

Yorkshire needed 16 from it though, and a hat-trick from Barker, removing McKay, Pyrah and Wainwright, ended the contest.

The Tykes are next in action on Saturday, when they play their penultimate Twenty20 group match at Nottinghamshire.