Inzamam surprised by below par West Indies

KARACHI, Dec 1 (Reuters) Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq hailed his side's 2-0 victory over West Indies in the three-test series today but said he was surprised the visitors had not given them a tougher examination.

''After the way they had performed admirably in the one-day tournaments including the Champions Trophy (runners-up), we were expecting this series to be harder for us to win,'' he told reporters.

''In the end it was a good result for us, especially keeping in mind the problems we faced in England and in the Champions Trophy in India,'' he said.

His comments followed Pakistan's 199-run final test win in Karachi today. Pakistan were beaten 3-0 in the test series in England earlier this year and won only one game in the Champions Trophy.

Inzamam's opposite number, Brian Lara, tried to look on the bright side for his team.

''It is disappointing to lose a series. Our performances in test matches still leave a lot to be desired but in the one-day arena we have played good cricket in last four months and we remain positive,'' he said.

''I remain upbeat about the one-dayers in Pakistan and our main focus is now on the final in Barbados (April 28) in the World Cup,'' Lara said.

BALL-TAMPERING Inzamam missed the Champions Trophy after being banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for four matches for bringing the game into disrepute in the Oval test against England in August.

He and his team refused to return to the field immediately after tea after being accused of ball-tampering. Inzamam was later cleared of this charge.

The Board will announce the captain for a South Africa tour and the March/April World Cup in the Caribbean on December 17.

Inzamam is favourite to get the job again.

Batsman Mohammad Yousuf rewrote the record books in the series, ending with 665 runs and four centuries.

He finished 2006 with nine hundreds and 1,788 runs, the highest scored in a calendar year in test history.

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