Stelling triggers Scottish collapse

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, Mar 22 (Reuters) Billy Stelling grabbed three wickets as the Netherlands skittled out fellow associate nation Scotland for 136 runs in their Group A match today.

Medium pacer Stelling took career best figures of three for 12 from eight overs to send the Scots, who were put in to bat, tumbling out in 34.1 overs.

Both teams are aiming to win their first match at the tournament following crushing defeats by champions Australia and top-ranked South Africa.

The South African-born Stelling's previous best performance was the three for 41.

Stelling owed some of his success to Luuk van Troost, the Dutch captain, who dropped himself from the team to make room for the seamer.

Stelling might have taken more wickets had Daan van Bunge, who was hit for six sixes in an over by South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs last week, not dropped two slip catches off his bowling.

The Scotland batsmen paid the price for injudicious strokeplay on a pitch that offered movement off the seam with the new ball.

That made the Netherlands's collection of trundlers look lethal as they reduced Scotland to 15 for four in the seventh over.

Ryan Watson and Neil McCallum steadied the innings with a stand of 24 for the fifth wicket before McCallum and Colin Smith added 38 runs to push Scotland past the half-century mark.

Glenn Rogers, top-scorer with 26, and McCallum (24) were the only batsmen to cross the 20-run mark.

ReutersDH VV2327