SCOTLAND were last night left to rue a missed opportunity to forge their first win of this season's YB40 campaign.

At one stage the Saltires looked on course to continue their love affair with Old Trafford where they had won on their previous three visits. However, having laid the foundation for a total approaching 250, a late collapse left them on 217-9, handing the initiative to their opponents.

Lancashire, on a run of four victories, gratefully accepted the reprieve, their opening batsmen quickly putting them in charge.Stephen Moore and Ashwell Prince cautiously saw off the new-ball before opening out with a series of punishing strokes, the former leading the way with two boundaries in one Gordon Goudie over before launching a straight six into the sightscreen off Majid Haq.

Prince trumped that hit with an even bigger one into the top deck of Old Trafford Lodge as the openers brought up the 100 in the 15th over. Both men reached half-centuries before Moneeb Iqbal trapped Moore for 53, the leg-spinner having a second success to remove Steven Croft.

The Saltires refused to throw in the towel and produced the game's magic moment when Preston Mommsen held a brilliant diving catch to dismiss Karl Brown off Haq. However, Prince was still there and the former South Africa Test player guided the county to a seven-wicket success with a beautifully crafted 98no featuring seven boundaries and two maximums.

Earlier, Mommsen opted to bat after winning the toss. However, the early signs were less than promising as Tom Latham's disappointing start to his Saltires stint continued. The New Zealander made just two when he carved purposefully at a wide delivery from Wayne White only to pick out Steven Kerrigan at third man.

Worse should have followed in the same over when Richie Berrington, yet to score, sent an edge to second slip where Prince put down the catch. The remainder of the power-play passed without alarm, Freddie Coleman and Berrington each stroking a boundary as the total moved to 33-1.

They had taken it to 57 in the 12th over when Berrington, having edged Jordan Clark for four, got a much thinner contact with the next delivery and was caught behind.

The arrival of Calum MacLeod provided the Saltires with impetus, the former Warwickshire man scoring at a run-a-ball in the early stages of his innings and refusing to be dictated to by the bowlers.

Coleman, meanwhile, was growing in confidence on his way to a second half-century of the campaign. The pair added 90 in 16 overs before Coleman was trapped in front by Stephen Parry. The batsman had faced 70 balls and stroked four boundaries before falling just a run short of his highest score in a Saltires shirt.

MacLeod also went on to reach a half-century, even if he became a little becalmed in the later stages before spooning a catch into the leg side.

Instead, the fireworks were provided by Mommsen who took advantage of the platform laid by his top-order colleagues with a sparkling 46 from just 38 balls. The captain announced himself with a crisp sweep to the fine- leg rope, adding a further four boundaries and a towering six over deep mid-wicket off Kabir Ali. However, there were still three overs remaining when Mommsen trudged off clearly furious at having miscued White to fine leg. He was one of six wickets to fall for just 24 runs as the Scottish innings petered out while the explosive Carter, who might have added the final flourish, was inexplicably left to bat at No.11, facing a solitary delivery.