Rain has the last laugh as ICC Intercontinental Cup match between Scotland and UAE ends in a draw at Ayr

The ICC Intercontinental Cup 2007-08 match between Scotland and United Arab Emirates ended in a draw after no play was possible on the third successive day at the Cambusdoon New Ground in Ayr, Scotland today (Saturday).

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 fourth and last day's play at 11.45 (BST) after overnight rain left the ground unfit for play.

Only 46 overs were possible on the first day in which UAE recovered from 18-3 to reach 174-4 with Saqib Ali and Khurram Khan putting on 153 runs for the fourth wicket. When stumps were drawn for the day on Wednesday, Saqib Ali was batting on 71 and with him was Shadeep Silva on one.

UAE will now travel to Toronto where it will face Canada from 6 July at the Maple Leaf North-West Ground, King City while Scotland will host the Netherlands from 2 August at the Mannofield Park, Aberdeen.

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.