USING the Intercontinental Cup to try to reach the exalted heights of Test cricket was always a long shot for Scotland but it got even longer as Afghanistan edged the game in the first day of action in their match in Stirling.

On a tricky day for scoring, the visitors picked up wickets regularly enough to leave Scotland on 227 for 8, leaving Afghanistan feeling they had given themselves every chance of the majority of points on offer in a match that is unlikely to reach a result.

With four sessions having fallen victim to the weather and more rain in the forecast for the next two days, it seems a draw is already the nearly inevitable result, making the six points on offer to the side that leads at the end of the first innings the most either team can realistically hope for.

With the visitors having won the toss and elected to bowl, the pressure was on Scotland to produce a quality batting performance to make sure they earn that first-innings lead and pick up the points that go with it. It was a tough task in the circumstances with some moisture in the wicket and the soggy outfield making it hard to score. Even the best shots struggled to make it through to the boundary.

Not that they were helped by the start with Ari Umeed, the 19-year-old playing his first competitive fixture for Scotland being given out early, caught behind to a ball that seemed to come off the pads rather than the bat. It was the perfect time for a captain's innings, and Preston Mommsen, seemed determined to deliver one as he and Hamish Gardiner set about rebuilding the Scots cause.

The problem was that while they were efficient enough at building partnerships, they were never able to grind out the really big one that would have put them in charge. The main batsmen mainly contributed, notably Mommsen, who looked set for a century but frustratingly fell frustratingly short when he the visitors turned to spin and he was trapped LBW for 77 by Samiullah Shenwari, the Afghan leg spinner who finished with three wickets for only 18 runs.

The rest were a tale of squandered starts as Hamish Gardiner went just short of his half century and Calum Macleod for 38 and the rest went cheaply as the slower Afghan bowlers tied them down and took advantage when the Scots gave vent to their frustrations.