GORDON Drummond led from the front last night as Scotland launched a thrilling fightback in their Intercontinental Cup clash with Canada at Mannofield.
On a wicket-strewn day, the Carlton all-rounder marked his first outing as captain with a fighting half-century in the Aberdeen sunshine.
It helped spare his side's blushes by hoisting their tally to 185 after they had slumped to 102 for eight in
perfect batting conditions. The Scots then claimed seven wickets to leave the four-day clash delicately balanced at the close.
Drummond, who took two wickets as the Canadians finished the day on 108 for seven – trailing the Scots by 77 runs, said: "I'm delighted to have done my bit as captain because I'm a great believer that if you're going to be preaching to others then you've got to be able to do it yourself. We had spoken before the game about the need to adapt after all the one-day cricket we've been playing but we were caught on the hop a bit.
"The ball was doing a bit but we still played too many loose shots on a wicket where we had hoped to get 300. That is the benchmark in four-day cricket."
In the event the Scots had to make do with 185 thanks to Drummond's ninth wicket stand of 83 with Simon Smith (29no). The skipper added: "To be honest I was disappointed with myself that I got out when I did because I thought we could get the side up to about 250. But the guys have fought back fantastically to take seven wickets.
"There is still a lot of hard work to be done but we've given ourselves a great chance of claiming a first innings lead and going on to win the game."
Drummond's decision to bat first had backfired spectacularly as his team-mates conjured up a catastrophic collapse, with Khurram Chohan doing most of the damage for Canada as he went on to claim 6 for 36.
However, Drummond was joined in his salvage operation by Smith
and the captain recorded a maiden First Class fifty, his 52 coming from 100 balls and including five boundaries. Chohan then struck to remove Drummond and Calum MacLeod in quick succession while Smith was left unbeaten on 29.
MacLeod, Jan Stander and Drummond each claimed two wickets as Canada were reduced to 108 for seven at the close, leaving Scotland favourites to claim the six points on offer for a first innings lead.
