SCOTLAND last night crashed to the fourth defeat of their tour Down Under when Canterbury eased to a four-wicket win at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch.

The Scots appeared to have put themselves in a good position when Kyle Coetzer and Preston Mommsen scored half-centuries in a total of 270-7. However, they were ultimately undone by two players with strong Scottish connections.

Andrew Ellis, the former West of Scotland professional, claimed four crucial wickets to deny the tourists a winning total, and then ex-Aberdeenshire star Todd Astle then hammered 45 not out from only 39 balls as Canterbury cruised to their target with three overs to spare.

Astle shared in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 69 with his team's top scorer Cam Fletcher who stroked eleven boundaries in his unbeaten 73.

Coetzer, though, was the game's top scorer with a well compiled 83. Dropped from his usual role at the top of the order, the Northants batsman warmed to his middle order berth, hitting 10 boundaries and a maximum and shared in a stand of 85 with Mommsen (55). Josh Davey was Scotland's most successful bowler with 2-43 but the home batsmen were rarely under sustained pressure.