Royals pip brave Saltires

Totesport League D2, Edinburgh: Scotland 119-7 lost to Worcestershire 128 by nine runs
Worcs 4 points, Saltires 0

Match scorecard

Worcestershire Royals recorded their fourth Totesport League win of the season with a tense nine-run victory over Scottish Saltires.

The match was reduced to 22-overs per side because of rain at The Grange.

The visitors were all out for 128 with the very last ball of their innings with India's Sridharan Sriram taking 3-17 after Vikram Solanki hit 36.

But the Saltires fell just short of their target when they finished agonisingly close on 119-7.

Veteran seamer David Leatherdale steadied Worcestershire's nerves as they hit back to deny Scotland their second win on the trot.

Leatherdale struck the decisive blows by trapping West Indian Floyd Reifer lbw then shattering the stumps of Gregor Maiden and Fraser Watts in a spell of 3-28.

The Saltires were understrength having been forced to make a series of changes before the match.

Skipper Craig Wright, Yasir Arafat, Ian Stanger and wicket-keeper Colin Smith were all unavailable.

They were replaced by Stewart Bruce, Reifer and Maiden.

Solanki was passed fit for the visitors, but Australian Andy Bichel was been ruled out with a shoulder injury.

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Scottish Saltires: Watts, D Lockhart (wkt), S Sriram, R Watson (capt), F Reifer, C English, G Maiden, Asim Butt, P Hoffmann, D Nel, S Bruce.

Worcestershire Royals: V Solanki, G Hick, S Moore, G Batty, B Smith (capt), A Hall, D Leatherdale, S Rhodes (wkt), Kabir Ali, M Mason, N Malik.