It was Mike Brearley who once penned his suspicions about the motto 'Never change a winning side'. He believed – and his record suggests that he was right – that if it's possible to improve a team, no matter how well it's playing, then you should.

The remarks of the Pakistan captain after their tense win over New Zealand at Rawalpindi, which has given them an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match one-day series, show that he's clearly of the same inclination. Waqar Younis felt that his batsmen had made up for a lethargic display by the bowlers that had allowed New Zealand to post a challenging total of 277 for 5.

"I hope a couple of youngsters will be given a chance to play in Lahore since we have already won the series," Waqar said. "Everyone has a bad day but I am happy that our batsmen made up for our bowlers' show."

If economy is his concern, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq - who went for more than five an over yesterday – are the three bowlers whose places will come under scrutiny. Nevertheless Waqar was full of praise for his side's teamwork.

"We just had to bat for the whole of 50 overs because the wicket was good for batting," he said. "We are playing as a team and everyone is putting in his best."

New Zealand can take heart from the fact that they competed all the way despite their current rash of injuries. Their captain Stephen Fleming was magnanimous. "We posted a good total but it was not enough in the end," he said. "With Inzamam batting at number six, they always had a long batting line-up."

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