Scotland lose out to Holland in first game in 17 months

Rusty Scotland last night slumped to defeat at the hands of Holland in Rotterdam as they returned to action for the first time in 17 months.

Richie Berrington hit three sixes in an innings of 43 in Scotland’s defeat against the Netherlands in the first one-day international in Rotterdam.

Chasing 164 in a match reduced to 33 overs-a-side, Scotland were rarely up with the rate and in the end fell 15 runs short. They suffered an early setback when Matthew Cross was brilliantly caught by Pieter Seelaar off Vivian Kingma.

Kingma and new-ball partner Logan van Beek proceeded to take charge as the Scottish batsmen struggled to find their rhythm, hitting just two boundaries in the 7-over powerplay.

Kyle Coetzer and Calum MacLeod also departed cheaply before a hard-hitting stand of 69 between Richie Berrington and George Munsey offered hope.

Berrington bludgeoned three maximums in his 43 while Munsey weighed-in with 27, only for both batsmen to fall in quick succession.

At 101-5 the match was back in the balance but Scotland’s less experienced middle order men were unable to find the required runs. Earlier, having endured 519 days without cricket, the Scots suffered further frustration when persistent rain caused a lengthy delay.

However, the bowlers made up for lost time with an excellent start to put their rivals firmly on the back foot on 59-5.

Safyaan Sharif was first to strike when he had Stephan Myburgh caught by Gavin Main before Mark Watt found the edge of Ben Cooper’s bat and Cross took the catch.

The impressive Main then struck twice in quick succession, trapping Dutch skipper Seelaar in front before inducing a false stroke from Scott Edwards which found its way into the hands of Munsey.

Hamza Tahir also got in on the act with a ball that spun through Bas de Leede’s defences. But the home side had an obdurate performer in opening batsman Max O’Dowd who refused to panic, instead compiling runs with a fine 83 before being run out in the final over. The right-hander faced 102 balls, stroking five boundaries and one huge six.

Main was the pick of the bowlers with 2-16 while Watt also had two victims, in the process claiming his 100th international wicket.

Scotland will get the chance of revenge when the sides meet again tomorrow.