Surely, they have one of the best attacks in the world and that's a great advantage. Besides, their senior cricketers are always ready and willing to lend a helping hand to juniors, be it with advice or guidance. In fact, I have noticed this since the days of Imran Khan, and it has been a big bonus for the youngsters. It enables them to quickly learn the tricks of trade and, in turn, pass them on to others.

Not long after their game against Scotland got under way, they found themselves in dire straits, having lost half the side for less than 100. The fighting qualities of the Pakistanis came to the fore, as Yousuf Youhanna and Mr Dependable Moin Khan, came to their rescue. They established a brilliant partnership that took the stingout of the Scottish attack which looked threatening at one stage.

We possibly have more than a dozen batsmen of the quality of Youhana in India. But it is the Pakistani temperament, fighting qualities, and of course, their never-say-die spirit, that separates them from the Indians.

Not many can bat with conviction when the ball moves in the air and seams off the wicket the way it did at Chester-le-Street. The Pakistani batsmen either pushed at the deliveries by playing away from their bodies, or played across only to find themselves in awkward positions.

The white ball does swing more than the red cherry early in the innings, and the Pakistanis were caught on a wicket which had moisture. That helped the bowlers move the ball by hitting the seam. Why, even the Scottish off-spinner Nick Dyer bowled superbly. He flighted his deliveries intelligently, spun the ball from around the off-stump, and held it back as the Pakistanis found runs hard to come by.

Youhana showed he was willing to toil for his runs.He waited patiently for the medium-pacers to finish their quota of overs before opening up. Moin successfully applied his unorthodox tactics to unsettle the bowlers. And once the runs started coming, there was a surplus of them.

Later in the innings, Wasim Akram indulged in some big hitting, enabling the Pakistanis to post a huge total that was definitely beyond the Scots, considering the quality of Pakistani attack.

Not surprisingly, with Shoaib Akhtar and Akram ripping through the top order, it was all over for Scotland.

That, at one point of time, they had Pakistan in a spot of bother, was to be the only gain for Scotland from this outing -- and perhaps, their only consolation.