Scotland move on after poor start

Jan Stander failed with the bat for Scotland but made amends with the ball, taking 2-27 as Canada struggled in a sun-kissed Aberdeen

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Scotland made a positive start to their Intercontinental Cup opener against Canada in Aberdeen today.

The hosts had looked to be struggling to make three figures on the first day of their four-day match but went on to reach 185 before reducing Canada to 108 for seven at stumps.

Ryan Watson stepped in to steady the ship after Scotland, who chose to bat first, lost opener Moneeb Iqbal in just the third over, trapped leg before by left-armer Umar Bhatti.

Watson (37) teamed up with Fraser Watts (21) to good effect before Watts joined his fellow opener in the pavilion, caught by wicketkeeper Ashif Mulla off Henry Osinde.

Scotland’s middle order came up well short - Richie Berrington, Neil McCallum, Ewan Chalmers and Jan Stander all failed to reach double figures, Stander suffering a golden duck.

Khurram Chohan did the bulk of the damage, taking an impressive 6-37.

However, Simon Smith (29 not out) and Gordon Drummond (52) steered their side towards a relatively decent total before Calum MacLeod’s duck brought the innings to an end.

Stander went some way to making amends for his performance with the bat as he took 2-27, the first wicket being that of opener Sandeep Jyoti. MacLeod and Drummond also took two apiece.

While Canada’s runs were more evenly spread out, only one batsman managed to reach 20, that being Rizwan Cheema as Canada closed on 108 for seven.