On the first ground at Rugby School, Scotland saw off a lower-order fight-back from the Netherlands, running out winners by 24 runs to set up a title decider against Ireland tomorrow.

Having won the toss, Scottish captain Shujaa Khan elected to bat and, at 81-2, that looked a good decision. But, when both ‘set' batsmen, Albert Culley and Finlay McCreath, were dismissed, a few more wickets followed: 81-2 became 105-7.

The Scottish innings was rescued, though, by a fine eighth-wicket stand of 62 between Hughes Gillin (38) and Thomas Dryden (28*). Gillin was particularly brutal, his knock taking only 35 balls and featuring three boundaries and two sixes.

The final score of 190-9, in damp and blustery conditions, was a fine effort.

For the Dutch, Tushar Sharma returned ten overs for only 26, while Pieter de Graaff record the excellent figures of 8-2-22-3.

Despite bowling all fifty overs, the Dutch were required to bat for seven overs before lunch, something which proved decisive as two top order wickets were lost, one to Khan, one to a run out, before the break.

Starting again, wickets fell regularly, although with Lex Otto run out backing up there was not much luck for the batsmen; at 73-6, there looked to be no way back for the Netherlands.

Bas de Leede and Kerten Nana, though, had other ideas, sharing a seventh-wicket stand of 62, wresting momentum away from the Scots.

Yet, when Nana was dismissed for 37 by the returning Gillin (2-29), and when another wicket fell the next ball, De Leede was left to shoulder the burden. Despite his epic innings, the Dutch fell 24 runs short; he was he last man out, caught at cover for an excellent 61 from 112 balls, with the score on 166.

The Netherlands, then, the champions of 2012, face Guernsey tomorrow to determine fourth and fifth places. Scotland, though, go top of the table on net run rate and will face the Irish in a winner-takes-all clash to decide the championship.