White eliminates Scotland

Craig White's timely knock put paid to Scottish hopes

Scotland Saltires’ quest to end their home Friends Provident Trophy problems were scuppered by Craig White.

Early scalps gave the Scots hope of their first-ever win over Yorkshire Carnegie, but White turned the tide, with a little help from Jacques Rudolph.

The duo produced a sparkling stand of 95 for the third wicket, which dug the county out of trouble at the Citylets Grange.

When Rudolph fell two short of his half-century at 113 for three, Yorkshire were well on the way to a victory which would keep the pressure on Lancashire Lightning in the North Division.

Chasing a target of 194, the Scots were on a high as they reduced Yorkshire to 18 for two, mainly thanks to a brilliant opening spell by John Blain and Dewald Nel.

However, the back-up bowlers couldn’t produce the same level of penetration and they allowed Rudolph and White to seize the initiative in the build-up to the seven-wicket win.

Blain returned to the attack to get rid of Rudolph for 48, only to be involved in a hideous mix-up with Fraser Watts which let White off the hook.

White swept Glenn Rogers into the air for what should have been a formality of a catch for either fielder.

However, they left it to one another and the ball dropped to the deck between them.

White made the most of his reprieve to finish on 69 not out, alongside Gerard Brophy, who had a spell as professional with Perthshire club Meigle, hitting a brisk unbeaten 61.

Earlier, Ed Cowan had top-scored for the Saltires with 36 while Colin Smith (30), Blain (26) and skipper Ryan Watson also weighed in with useful knocks on the tricky surface.

But a series of soft dismissals prevented them from fully capitalising on some loose Yorkshire bowling.

The latest in a long line of home losses for the country, defeat killed off Scotland’s dream of reaching the knock-out stages.