ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

SCOTLAND v NETHERLANDS Scotland chose to recall Bruce Patterson for his first game for his country since 2001, whereas the Dutch were weakened by the absence of Tim de Leede (family commitments) and Darron Reekers and Feiko Kloppenburg (both injured). Rain prevented play on the first day before lunch but in the afternoon and evening sessions neither side gained an advantage. Four of the Scottish batsmen got beyond 20 but were unable to convert their starts into a substantial score. Jeroen Smits impressed behind the stumps, being involved in three of the five wickets to fall before the close. Cedric English and Craig Wright ended the day with an undefeated partnership of 54 runs. On the second morning the not-out pair extended their partnership to 112, after which Greig Williamson made an aggressive 26 in 19 balls as Scotland moved as rapidly as possible to a declaration. The Dutch reply followed a similar pattern to Scotland’s innings as Bas Zuiderent and Lucas van Troost put on 139 runs for the fourth wicket. After van Troost was bowled by Wright just before tea, Zuiderent could find no one to offer support. Ryan Watson and Paul Hoffmann despatched the lower order easily to give Scotland a lead of 57 runs. Despite losing Steve Knox with only 1 run on the board, Scotland enhanced their position through a 115-run partnership between Patterson and Fraser Watts. Patterson fell soon after he obtained his half-century but at 130 for two when play ended for the day Scotland were in a healthy position of 187 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand. Accurate and tight bowling by Sebastiaan Gokke with very defensive fields helped to check the run rate on the final day and eventually to cause a collapse as Scotland tried to push towards a declaration. This came at lunch leaving The Netherlands a target of 308 runs in 61 overs. The Dutch altered their batting order but, after losing Daan van Bunge for nought, they made no attempt to get the runs. Wright tried seven bowlers with frequent changes but was unable to break Zuiderent and van Troost, who finished undefeated in a partnership of 112. The contrast between Scotland’s positive attitude in setting out to win and the Dutch determination not to lose produced an uninspiring third day. 24 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2004