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Brisbane, Nov 9:It was nothing more than a token offer of resistance that came from Pakistan's remaining six batsmen as they were, all too predictably, routed on the final morning of the first Test. What made their effort all the more lamentable was that it took place on a pitch which remained ideal for batting.

Pakistan lacked application throughout this Test and while the bowling and fielding clearly showed an immediate need for a vast improvement, it was the batsmen who let the side down when the opportunity was there for them to redeem themselves in the second innings.

To go down fighting in a Test match is one thing but to give it away as meekly as Pakistan's batsmen did on the fifth morning is nothing short of surrender. They began the day as if the pluck had already been knocked out of them and as Australia's opening batsmen showed the second time around, scoring runs, or for that matter, simple occupation of the crease and taking runs as they came, would not exactly have been a test of their ability to survive. This remained, after all, an absolutely perfect wicket for batting for the entire duration of the Test.

Australia's opening batsmen proved this point further in their second innings when they knocked off the required 74 runs for victory in just 14 overs. To rub salt in the wound, man of the match Michael Slater hit four boundaries in one over from Mushtaq. As if the diminutive Pakistan leg-spinner had not suffered enough already in the first innings.

Of the six Pakistan batsmen who remained to battle it out on the final day, four of them - Saeed Anwar, Moin Khan, Azhar Mahmood and Wasim Akram - have scored Test centuries, Mushtaq Ahmed has had Test fifties and Abdur Razzaq has proved himself with the bat, albeit, in limited-overs cricket. Yet when the call came, on the last day, they batted like novices.

Razzaq played the first ball, a full toss, as if he was having a warm-up net. Anwar, having done so much on the previous day, could not seem to get it together again. Azhar went down the pitch as if he had dreamed the previous night of hitting the winning runs. Akram seemed to lose his concentration, getting out to the first ball after the drinks break and Moin lost his patience after nearly an hour and a half. Pakistan were two wickets down for two runs and three down for four soon after the start of the day's play. A situation from which recovery was practically out of the question. Hopefully they have all learned something from this performance.

Akram reasoned that Pakistan's defeat came about from a lack of match practice as Pakistan had not played a Test match for about seven months. He defended his players by saying that they were "a little rusty in fielding and the players were not used to being in the field for a whole day."

He added: "We didn't bowl well. Shoaib Akhtar didn't bowl that well, it was a lack of bowling practice. Mushtaq didn't have a good game but hopefully Saqlain will be fit for the next game and he will be back in the side. So the side will be a bit different from this game". He went on to say: "We will also adapt to the conditions now that we have been here for two weeks. We are going to look a much better side in the next Test in Hobart."

There weren't too many pluses to come out of this Test for Pakistan, but the Pakistan captain did single out Yousuf Youhana for his excellent batting which took him close to scoring a century in each innings.

"He is a very special player. The best thing about him is his temperament, he enjoys his cricket and he loves the tension in the way that he wants to do well with a lot of people watching him. He is getting better and better day by day," Wasim said.

An improvement in the bowling and fielding should lift Pakistan's game in the second Test in Hobart. They will be looking for a couple of changes in the team. While Saqlain is expected to be fit, top-order batsman Wajahatullah Wasti could well be included. Ijaz Ahmed, who had scores of 0 and 5 and was something of a liability in the field in this Test may well have to make way along with Abdur Razzaq, who has been so effective in limited-overs cricket but looked out of his depth at Test level.