Former Scotland seamer Paul Hoffmann has emerged as the secret weapon behind Friday's astonishing fightback with the ball.

Last night it was revealed that Hoffmann, who retired from international cricket last year, had compiled a special dossier on Namibia's dangerous and often big-hitting batsman.

The Uddingston pace bowler was the hero the last time these side's met in the Intercontinental Cup, claiming 5-14 to seal an easy innings win at Mannofield two years ago.

Hoffmann, recently appointed Cricket Scotland's new Performance Analyst on a game-by-game basis, was unable to travel with the squad to Windhoek.
 
However, he said: "I'm delighted to remain involved with the Scotland set-up because it was a real wrench when I retired.

"Although I couldn't go to Namibia I passed a dossier to Pete Steindl before they left.

"It contained all the information I had on the seven or eight batsmen who have survived in the side from the Mannofield game.

"Hopefully I've been able to pass on some useful information to the guys."SCOTLAND's hopes of forcing a vital

The sides will resume this morning with the only certainty being that this four-day clash will not run its full course, Namibia requiring a further 192 runs on the third day while the Scots must claim seven more wickets to secure the win they need to rekindle their hopes of success in the competition.

Following the extraordinary events of Friday when twenty wickets fell in the day, a sense of order was restored yesterday before mayhem returned with a vengeance as an amazing epidemic of lbw decisions swung the match back into the melting pot.

While the Scots recovered from their opening day batting collapse, they suffered an early setback when Dougie Lockhart found himself back in the pavilion before a run had been scored.

The West of Scotland opener, happily restored to full fitness after missing the whole of last season with a serious knee injury, remains one of the country's most technically assured batsmen.

With his additional skills as a wicketkeeper, Lockhart is aiming to make up for lost time by earning an extended run in the side.

However, he has had little chance to shine with the bat in this match, trapped in front by Kola Burger for a duck to add to his first innings 2.

If alarm bells were ringing in the visitors' dressing room, they were barely audible in the middle where the experience of Fraser Watts was complemented by the youth of Qasim Sheikh.

Together the pair set about proving that batting was no longer the near-impossible task it had looked twenty-four hours earlier.

There was nothing spectacular about their progress in the face of some tight bowling from Namibia's medium-pacers on a pitch which still had plenty of life about it.

Accumulating steadily, the pair were principally intent on survival while seizing on any chance to build upon Scotland's 25-run lead on first innings.

Clydesdale left-hander Sheikh, for several seasons a promising youngster who has failed to realise his full potential, went into this match having only once reached double figures in seven previous innings.

It was therefore something of a personal triumph for the 23 year-old when he erased the memory of his first innings duck by reaching ten and a further cause for minor celebration when he passed his previous highest total of 17, scored for the Saltires against Sussex at Hove in 2005.

By lunch Scotland had hoisted their tally to 73-1 from twenty-nine testing overs with Watts leading the way on 32 and his junior partner going well on 26.

Watts went on to complete his second First Class century of his career, hitting two sixes in his 54, before being trapped in front by Kola Burger.

The Carlton batsman's departure sparked a mid-order collapse during which Kola Burger removed Ryan Watson and Gavin Hamilton with successive deliveries to hoist his tally to four wickets – remarkably all courtesy of lbw verdicts.

Burger didn't need the intervention of the umpire to claim the wicket of Neil McCallum, the Grange man being comprehensively bowled to leave the Scots suddenly looking less comfortable on 153-5.

Happily Sheikh remained immune to this dose of the jitters long enough to move smoothly to a maiden First Class fifty.

The Clydesdale player went on to top score with 63 from a painstaking 177 deliveries before he too fell to another lbw decision.

John Blain, Friday.s hero with bat and ball, went in similar fashion before Craig Wright's rearguard action came when he was last to go – unluckily run out for 28.

With a fragile lead of 236, it was vital that the Scots made inroads in the remaining overs of the day and Blain obliged with three of them, leaving the match finely poised with Namibia on 44-3.