Gavin Hamilton last night spared Scotland's blushes before their historic clash with the Auld Enemy was washed out at a sodden Citylets Grange.

The former England player, ditched after playing in just one Test match, bailed out the Saltires with a superb half-century that frustrated Kevin Pietersen's men.

His hard-hitting sixty helped the Scots reach 156-9 from their 44 overs after they had been put in to bat on a tricky wicket.

But Scotland's chances of forcing an unlikely win were dashed when the match was abandoned after just fifteen deliveries of England's reply.

The Scots suffered a disastrous start which saw them lose three wickets inside the first six overs as England's slick seamers took advantage of the conditions.

Skipper Ryan Watson was first to go when he set off for a suicidal single and was sent back by Hamilton only to see Samit Patel's throw shatter his stumps.

But worse followed when Kyle Coetzer and Nav Poonia both went for ducks.

The county stars, brought in to bolster the batting, both nibbled at deliveries from Tim Bresnan and were caught in the slips by Freddy Flintoff and Patel respectively.

At 11-3 the occasion was threatening to turn into a major embarrassment for the Saltires in front of a bumper 5,500 crowd.

But Hamilton lifted home spirits with a huge six off James Anderson that landed in front of the hospitality tent.

Aberdeenshire's Colin Smith joined in the counter-attack by hooking Bresnan for six to fine leg and then launching a magnificent straight drive off the same bowler which also sailed over the ropes.

Smith also hit three boundaries during his 66-run stand with Hamilton as the Scots got their innings firmly back on track.

However, some tight bowling by the English pegged the pair back and frustration got the better of Smith when he top-edged a Stuart Broad delivery and was caught on the third man boundary.

Neil McCallum was next to go, caught in the deep after miscuing a sweep off Patel before Craig Wright helped Hamilton push the score into three figures with a breezy 16.

Hamilton added to his earlier six with two more clearances and also stroked four boundaries before he became the first of Flintoff's three victims.

But by then Scottish pride had been restored and some late hitting from John Blain and Calum MacLeod pushed the tally up further.