Scotland 287 for 8 decl. (Hamilton 115, Lockhart 64) beat Canada 110 and 93 by an innings and 84 runs

Match Report :

A spectacular second-innings collapse by Canada enabled Scotland to win the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup final at Sharjah by an innings and 84 runs with more than a day to spare.

Facing a first-innings deficit of 177 after Scotland declared on 287 for 8, Canada crashed to 24 for 8 (with one man, Sunil Dhaniram, retired hurt) before a last-wicket stand of 69 allowed them to salvage some pride. Asim Butt (4 for 10) and John Blain (4 for 28) ripped through Canada's batting with ease, exploiting helpful conditions to the full. The pair effectively wrapped up the match in a devastating 11 overs before Umar Bhatti (41) and Ashish Patel (25*) stopped the rot.

Bhatti was the only one of the Canadian players who emerged from the day with any credit. Earlier, he took four of the five Scotland wickets which fell, including three in one over, finishing with 4 for 49.

Scotland began the day on 180 for 3. Gavin Hamilton (115) and Ryan Watson (57) extended their fourth-wicket stand to 118 before five wickets fell for 15 as Scotland pressed for quick runs ahead of the declaration.

Quotes:

Scotland captain, Craig Wright :

We played fantastic cricket over the five days play we had here, first against Kenya and then against Canada. It’s a team victory, and everybody has contributed in both matches, with not just individuals performing but every member of the team contributing and playing exceptional cricket.

This victory is important for Scotland as we want to prove we are the strongest Associate member country and a win in emphatic style sends a strong message.

Canada captain, Ian Billcliff :
Firstly, I’d like to offer congratulations to Scotland. Obviously we are disappointed the way things went but we are still very positive about what we learnt in this tournament, and especially from a player development perspective. The ICC Intercontinental Cup is a great tournament and concept and we look forward to participating next year.
We worked hard to get to the final, but congratulations to Scotland who played well

Scotland 180 for 3 (Lockhart 64, Hamilton 70*) lead Canada 110 (Billcliff 31, Blain 3-27, Watson 3-1) by 70 runs

Scotland took control on the first day of the inaugural ICC Intercontinental Cup final at Sharjah, bowling Canada out for 110 and taking a lead of 70 by the close.

Gavin Hamilton, the Durham all-rounder, was unbeaten on 70 at stumps.

Canada won the toss but made a poor start, losing Ashif Mulla to the last ball of the first over of the match. Wickets then fell at regular intervals - the best partnerships the Canadians could muster were a brace of 24s. John Blain finished with 3 for 27, and Ryan Watson made sure the tail did not wag, picking up the eye-catching figures of 3 for 1.

Only Ian Billcliff, Canada's captain, resisted for long. He made 31, before becoming the eighth man out and the first of Watson's three victims.

When Scotland batted Fraser Watts was an early casualty, caught by Billcliff off Austin Codrington for 2. But Douglas Lockhart held firm, making a polished 64 with nine fours. He put on 40 with Cedric English, then 101 with Hamilton, who showed his county-cricket pedigree with a fine innings which has so far included six fours.

Scotland has displayed a deep batting order to date in this tournament, and a repeat performance tomorrow should put the match - and the trophy - beyond Canada's reach.

Canada 1 Zubin Surkari, 2 Ashif Mulla (wk), 4 Don Maxwell, 4 Ian Billcliff (capt), 5 Haninder Dhillon, 6 Sunil Dhaniram, 7 Austin Codrington, 8 Sanjayan Thuraisingam, 9 Umar Bhatti, 10 Kevin Sandher, 11 Ashish Patel.

Scotland 1 Douglas Lockhart, 2 Fraser Watts, 3 Cedric English, 4 Gavin Hamilton, 5 Ryan Watson, 6 Colin Smith (wk), 7 Kyle Coetzer, 8 Craig Wright (capt), 9 John Blain, 10 Paul Hoffmann, 11 Asim Butt.