Day three of ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Ayr abandoned

The third day's play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 match between Scotland and United Arab Emirates was called off without a ball being bowled at the Cambusdoon New Ground in Ayr, Scotland today (Friday).

Norman Malcolm of the Emirates International Panel of ICC Umpires and Paul Baldwin of the ICC Associates and Affiliates Umpires International Panel called off the day's play at 15.45 (BST) after overnight rain left the ground unfit for play.

Weather permitting, the scheduled time for play to resume on the fourth and final day is 10.30 (BST).

The game now looks like being a draw with UAE still on 174-4 in its first innings after day one. Day two was also washed out with no play possible. Saqib Ali was batting on 71 and with him was Shadeep Silva on one.

The ICC Intercontinental Cup has quickly grown in stature and profile since its inception three years ago and now ICC's premier first-class tournament is an integral part of the Associate Members' cricket schedule.

Having previously been designed around a two-group, three-day format, the event has evolved into an eight-team, round-robin and truly global tournament featuring four-day cricket which gives those teams who do not play Test cricket the chance to experience the longer form of the game.

Scotland won the first ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2004, beating Canada in the final, while Ireland has been victorious in both events since then, beating Kenya in the 2005 decider and Canada earlier this year in the 2006-07event.

The final of the ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 will take place in November 2008 at a venue yet to be decided.