Paul Hoffman enjoyed a good spell of bowling

Excellent bowling performances from John Blain and Paul Hoffmann saw the Scots make early breakthroughs but the home side were guilty of poor fielding.

Tom de Grooth benefited from three of Scotland's handling errors to post a first class career-best 98.

The Scots finished the day on four runs for no loss.

Blain and Dewald Nel failed to get the breakthrough their captain hoped for.

It took the introduction of Hoffmann, still reeling from his World Cup Twenty20 omission, to bring immediate reward.

Hoffmann demonstrated why many believe the selectors have committed a serious folly in omitting him from their Twenty20 plans.

The most economical Scottish bowler of recent times and the most consistent, Hoffmann at one stage had sent down seven overs for just six runs.

He eventually finished with two for 45 from 22 overs while Nel also claimed a brace and Gordon Drummond one, courtesy of Scotland's one memorable bit of fielding - a superb diving catch by Neil McCallum that removed Geert Mol.

Blain finally ended the long resistance of De Grooth, caught behind by Simon Smith just two runs short of what would have been a maiden first class century for the Dutchman.

De Grooth stroked 13 boundaries during his 199-ball innings, benefiting along the way from three spilled catches. Former Yorkshire paceman Blain returned to mop up the Dutch tail, finishing with five for 84.

Scotland's first target on Friday will be to knock off the arrears and earn the bonus points that go with a first innings lead.