Watson and McCallum rescue Scotland against Netherlands

Captain Ryan Watson and Neil McCallum rescued Scotland from complete disaster against the Netherlands with an unbroken double-century fourth wicket partnership on a weather-hit second day's play in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Mannofield, Aberdeen on Friday.

Watson was unconquered on a brilliant 141, his second career century in 11th first-class match, while McCallum was three short of his second career hundred in six outings as Scotland reached 277-3 in reply to the Netherlands' 255.

That position represented real riches for the home side after, at one point, it had been reduced to 55-3 on a day when 26 overs were lost to rain in the last session. It also means that Scotland, which started the day at 4-0, has already pocketed the six first innings points available.

When play started under overcast conditions Scotland suffered an immediate setback when Qasim Sheikh departed without adding to the overnight score. Fraser Watts and Omer Hussain later joined him in the pavilion in quick succession as the home team found itself in dire straits.

However, Watson and McCallum stabilized the innings with a magnificent partnership that featured high-quality shots from both batsmen.

Watson has so far received 208 balls during his knock while McCallum has faced 133 deliveries.

For the Netherlands, Geert-Maarten Mol and Somesh Kohli took one wicket each while Hussain was run-out.

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 which 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 2006-07 event.

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