The Saltires swapped the agony of last-ball defeat for the even greater pain of a genuine thumping as Notts Outlaws yesterday romped to an easy Friends Provident Trophy win at the Citylets Grange.
In the wake of two last-ball defeats at Leicester and Northants, the Scots had been confident they could clinch their first win of the campaign. Instead they were humbled and none more so than Ian Moran whose comeback turned into a personal nightmare.
The Australian saw his bowling smashed for 32 runs in one decisive over which effectively ended Scottish hopes of keeping the total within manageable proportions. Moran then fell to a first ball duck as the home side slid to defeat by 77 runs.
Chasing an imposing 294 for victory, the Saltires got off to the worst possible start when Fraser Watts edged the second ball of the innings from Ryan Sidebottom for a duck. Worse followed when captain Ryan Watson played the ball on.
Majid Haq and George Bailey compiled a half-century stand but were separated with the total on 73. Bailey struck Graeme Swann's full toss straight to short cover, before Haq, having fought his way to 42, offered a simple return catch to the bowler and Moran followed off the next delivery.
Neil McCallum swept a couple of sixes but by then the Saltires were involved in an exercise in damage limitation, John Blain (21) and Dewald Nel (15) contributing to that process along with Simon Smith who hit a spirited 41no.
Earlier the Notts openers had put the Saltires on the back foot with a flurry of boundaries, with Jason Gallian backing up Bilal Shafayatin in a partnership of 82 in 15 overs.
The stand was broken when Glenn Rogers snapped-up a big hit from Shafayat off Craig Wright. But Gallian kept the runs coming and looked a certainty for a century after easing his way to 97, before Bailey took a fine diving catch.
It only paved the way for a savage onslaught from Chris Read who wrecked Moran's return, inflicting the most expensive over ever sent down by a Saltires bowler. Read hit four sixes and two fours while helping himself to 32 runs and racing to 58 from only 43 balls.
The Notts man was eventually bowled by Blain but, with Mark Ealham and Swann also hitting out, Scotland conceded 61 runs from the last three overs.
Coach Peter Drinnen insisted South African professional Moran can recover from his nightmare return and said: "It was just one of those days for Ian. Even the best players in the world have them and we are not worried."
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