Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton insists his side learned a harsh lesson after they were blown away by New Zealand in their opening ICC World Twenty20 match.

Due rain delays at The Oval, the match was reduced to seven overs a-side and having been put into bat by stand-in Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum, the Saltires bludgeoned their way to 89.

Opener Ryan Watson got the ball rolling by smashing four fours in the first over and raced to 27 off ten deliveries, while Kyle Coetzer top-scored with a blistering 33, including two sixes.

But some indifferent bowling and poor fielding saw New Zealand cruise to a seven-wicket victory, with an over to spare and Hamilton is adamant that at the highest level all parts of his side's game must be firing on all cylinders.

"If you had told me we would have got 90 against New Zealand in seven overs I would have snapped your hand off," he said.

"We the first half of the match but our problem has been getting all three disciplines of our game right on the day, getting just one part right is not good enough against a team like that.

"We had our plans but obviously the execution in the field wasn't right. But I can't be too hard on my bowlers, it's a pressure cooker here and we'll learn from this."