By Scott Heinrich

Miandad is a calmer coach now than three years ago

Despite dropping the one-day series 4-1, it seems Pakistan leave New Zealand feeling reasonably satisfied.

Coach Javed Miandad, a renowned perfectionist, insists the tour has been a job well done after his side's 1-0 win in the preceding Test series.

The Pakistan coach said: "We weren't as bad as 4-1 losers. At least we won the Test series, so we can say the tour was a success."

Miandad proud of Pakistan

It is a far cry from their 2000-01 tour, when Pakistan departed New Zealand in a fever of acrimony.

Back then, Miandad quit in an almighty huff and had many words to say after Pakistan drew the Test series and lost the final one-dayer to go down 3-2.

All has been forgiven as Miandad is now back in charge, but the former Test star marked the end of his previous tenure with allegations of match-fixing and poor application.

He later reneged on a stupefying parting shot, but Miandad had been quoted as saying: "Enough is enough. I was silent just for the country's sake but now I must come out in the open.

Not even Razzaq's hitting could get Pakistan out of jail in Wellington

"We have video and audio footage that can prove we lost due to match-fixing."

It was a headline-grabbing way to throw in the towel.

But if things seem to be more harmonious in the dressing room now, one wonders what Pakistan have learned on the field in the intervening three years.

Not a great deal it would seem, especially when their recent 5-0 drubbing of the Black Caps in Pakistan is taken into account.

New Zealand were without seven or eight senior players on that tour, and Pakistan's sudden reversal of fortune shows they still have a lot of work to do away from home.

The whitewash in Pakistan was built around awesome batting from openers Yasir Hameed and Imran Farhat.

But a run of 100-plus first-wicket stands dried up on the variable tracks of New Zealand, and Pakistan were left to rely on old heads like Yousuf Youhana and Abdul Razzaq to put up a fight.

And the occasional waywardness of fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami resulted in them coming in for punishment.

Sami was an expensive luxury in New Zealand

Both are strike bowlers - a huge asset in the wicket-hungry Test arena but not so in the shorter game when keeping things tight can be just as useful.

A poor World Cup campaign last year sparked Pakistan into a clear-out.

Stalwarts like Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar dispensed with and the injection of new talent seemed to do the trick as Pakistan lifted the Sharjah Cup.

But it proved to be something of a false dawn as they were beaten by New Zealand in a triangular final in Dambulla and then 2-1 in England.

A bloodless 5-0 win over Bangladesh told us nothing, unlike the 3-2 home defeat to South Africa that followed after taking a 2-0 lead.

I think Pakistan need to stop relying on special individual performances and start being more consistent in shot selection and placement From Zainub Have your say on TMS

Pakistan will have designs on their next big limited-overs challenge away from home, the ICC Champions Trophy in England in September.

But they could struggle in a group that includes India, who beat them in the World Cup and have shown in Australia they are not as prone to travel sickness as once was the case.