Stander confident after Scotland hit back in Intercontinental Cup match against Canada

SCOTLAND’s cricketers have put themselves into a winning position after day one of their Intercontinental Cup match against Canada at Mannofield, with Stoneywood-Dyce’s Jan Stander playing a key role with the ball.

The South Africa-born player, making his first-class debut for the Scots, suffered a golden duck as the home side was skittled for a paltry 185 by Canada. But Scotland roared back into contention by reducing the Canadians to just 108 for seven at stumps.

Stander reckons a first innings lead of 50, providing the Scots bat better in their second innings, could be decisive. The allrounder said: “We were too much in Twenty20 mode in the early stages of our innings, too many players were going for the big shots when we needed to dig in and build an innings.

“Thankfully for us, the captain Gordon Drummond and Simon Smith put together a really good partnership. The less said about my dismissal the better but at least I had the chance when I opened the bowling to make a contribution."

Stander snapped up two wickets, as did Calum MacLeod and captain Drummond, as the Canadians suffered a similar slide. Stander added: “The first half an hour will be crucial tomorrow.