Jacques Rudolph scored 69 as holders Surrey held off Scotland on a rainy day in Edinburgh
06-May-2012
Surrey 187 for 7 (Rudolph 69) beat Scotland 118 for 6 (Berrington 43*) by 18 runs (D/L method) Scorecard
Surrey claimed back-to-back wins to start their Clydesdale Bank 40 title defence following an 18-run win over Scotland on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Jacques Rudolph top-scored with 69 as the defending champions posted 187 for 7 before the rain in Edinburgh ruined the hosts' quest for a memorable opening win. Under murky skies Scotland struggled to find the momentum they needed, aside from Richie Berrington's unbeaten 43, but just as he looked to take control the rain set in to deny Scotland.
After opening their campaign with victory over last season's beaten finalists Somerset on Friday, Surrey were made to sweat early by the unfancied Scots after being sent in. Captain Rory Hamilton-Brown, who struck a stunning century against Somerset, fell for just 5 in the second over and Jason Roy quickly followed to leave Surrey 20 for 2.
That brought South Africa international Rudolph to the crease early and he slowly set about accumulating runs in the tricky conditions. His steady bid to set a platform was undermined, however, by the departures of Steven Davies, Zander de Bruyn and Matthew Spriegel before they could find full flow.
Rudolph remained patient though, hitting just a single boundary in his 89-ball stay, before Scotland managed to extricate him in the 36th over. Offspinner Majid Haq made the breakthrough to leave Surrey 151 for 6. While Ireland international Gary Wilson fell soon after, Surrey finally produced some late hitting thanks to Gareth Batty and Jon Lewis.
Scotland's chase was soon affected by the rain, the players forced off after 3.5 overs with the score 13 for 0. Two overs were lost and when the players returned England seamer Jade Dernbach quickly removed Calum MacLeod before Josh Davey and Symes fell in consecutive overs to have Scotland in trouble at 39 for 3.
When opener Fraser Watts was stumped to give Spriegel his second wicket, the hosts looked to be losing their way before Berrington started to turn things around. With the rain threatening, he progressed to 43 from 57 balls, but did not have enough time to overtake the Duckworth-Lewis calculations as the weather finally closed in.