New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was stoic in the face of his country's worst ever Test defeat here Friday, after the Kiwis went down by an innings and 324 runs against a rampant Pakistan.

"It was not an embarrassing defeat because we were outplayed and outsmarted by a better team," Fleming, 31, said after the match ended just before stumps on the third day.

"It was especially a tough job in the office after we were made to chase the ball for the first two days."

But he admitted the crushing defeat was a body blow to the tourists.

"It would be very hard to find positives after being outplayed in the one-day series 3-0 and then in this Test."

Pakistan made 643 runs in the first innings with Inzamamul Haq hitting a memorable 329, before

bowler Shoaib Akhtar came out and ripped through the New Zealanders' top order with a devastating series of yorkers.

The tourists never recovered, making just 73 in their first innings

and 246 in the second. Their previous heaviest loss was by an innings and 322 runs against the West Indies at Wellington in 1994-95.

Fleming said the reasons for the defeat were manifold.

"It was a combination of heat, a better show by the opposition and some poor batting by us," he said, adding that his team now had to regroup for the next Test in Karachi beginning on May 8.

"I know we have a mountain to climb ... and I hope that we try our best on the last five days of the tour and put up a better show in the second Test," Fleming said.

The Black Caps skipper said his team had shown its mettle when they came close to beating Australia in the three-match series there last year, but he said conditions were vastly different in Pakistan.

"I don't think it's a turnaround because you can't compare the conditions of Australia and what we have here. The conditions suit us more in Australia and fortunes are different," he said.

New Zealand head to the West Indies next month and Fleming is hoping an injection of fresh blood will see them back to winning ways.

"We hope to get some more players coming back from injury

before the tour to West Indies," he said.

His coach Denis Aberhart meanwhile said Saturday his country needs to increase the depth of its cricketing skills.

"What New Zealand cricket needs is to keep trying to increase the depth for better results in the future because we are a small country and have limited resources," Aberhart told the news agency.

Aberhart said if the Pakistan tour gives him two or three new players, it would be satisfying.

"What we now look for is to find two to three new players on this tour and when the injured players come back they help us in combining a good team for the West Indies tour."

Pakistani captain Waqar Younis meanwhile said his team was ready for their tour of Australia later this year.

"The way we have played here I am sure we are ready for Australia who are reckoned as the best team in the world," Younis said.

Pakistan play Australia in three one-day internationals in June and then compete with the world champions in a tri-series in Pakistan in August-September this year.

Australia will also tour Pakistan for three Tests in October.