Younis hasn’t got many excuses for his team’s performance

London, May 20: Pakistan captain Waqar Younis had few excuses after his team went down an innings and nine runs thrashing by England on the fourth day of the first Test of two at Lord's here Sunday.

"It's very disappointing,'' said Waqar, who was the last man out for a defiant 21. "We played badly, we bowled and batted badly and England didn't.'' Pakistan were bowled out for 179, having followed on after making 203 in their first innings. The result was all the more impressive considering the opening day had been a total washout.

"We bowled badly on the first day (England eventually compiled a first innings total of 391). We didn't bowl the right lines but maybe that was a result of not having had enough bowling.'' Pakistan great Imran Khan had been severely critical of Pakistan's warm-up schedule.

"It is the worst thing to happen after having had just five days of cricket,'' he said.

"It's no preparation for a side who will have found the conditions completely alien,'' said Khan, adding that he would never have allowed Pakistan to be a warm-up match for England's Ashes series against Australia here later this summer.

Waqar said the former captain had come into the dressing room afterwards. ``He came in and tried to lift us but perhaps we didn't have enough match practice.'' Waqar also paid tribute to the bowling of Andy Caddick, made man-of-the-match by Imran for his overall figures of eight for 106.

"He was extraordinary. He got a lot of lift from the far end. England's catching was extraordinary too. Graham Thorpe took some fantastic catches.'' Waqar insisted he had picked the right team for this match, even though they did not play a single specialist spinner.

"There was nothing in the pitch for the spinners,'' said the former Surrey and Glamorgan star but he hinted there might be changes for the next Test at Old Trafford on May 31.

"I don't know what the pitch will be like but I hear it might turn,'' said Waqar, suggesting that either off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq or leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed might play.

He was also able to find some postives from this game, notably the performances of youngster Younis Khan, who defied England in the first innings with a top score of 58, and the bowling of Azhar Mahmood who took a Test best 4-50.

"They were extraordinary. They are our two most inexperienced players but they played well.'' England captain Nasser Hussain was understandably elated at England's third Test win in a row, their third on the trot at Lord's and the second time in two years after vanquishing the West Indies at cricket's most famous ground that they had won a Test here inside three days.

"I said to the guys this morning that you can't always bowl out teams for 80 or 90, so be patient,'' said Hussain, who was forced to sit out the final day and a half after having his thumb fractured by 'Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar.

"But the crowd got behind us and Caddick was phenomenal. Pakistan are a fine side, with Rashid Latif at eight, Wasim Akram at nine and Waqar showed he could bat.

"But I was surprised how easily we bowled them out because I've got so much respect for them.'' England have now played 100 Tests at Lord's, winning 37, losing 24 and drawing 39. This was their first innings win over Pakistan since 1978 and Somerset star Caddick said England's performance with the new ball had been crucial.

"When the ball stays firm and hard you've got to get stuck in,'' he said. "In the last 18 months Darren and I have bowled well together.''

A finger injury had forced Hussain to miss last season's win here over the West Indies but the Essex batsman said that at least this time around he was able to make a contribution.

"It wasn't difficult to watch because I batted out there for five hours and made the second top score. I was proud of that.

"But what pleased me more than anything was our catching. That's the standard we need if we want to be competing with the Aussies. Some of the catches Thorpe took were like ones Mark Waugh has been taking throughout his career,'' said Hussain, who will miss the next Test.

He warned that England could be in for a tougher encounter in Manchester. "Old Trafford will suit Pakistan more. Our aim is to win that match because then we will have won five series in a row.''

Gough took his 200th Test wicket in this his 50th Test match but what really pleased him was his five for 61 that at last put his name on the honours board in the Pavilion.

"That means more to me than 200 - that's forever.''